The team at Nemo’s Garden has brought gardening into the 21st Century. After all, it’s the world’s first-ever vegetable garden found underwater. That’s right! Now, it’s finally reopened after having to close down as a result of the coronavirus.
World’s First Underwater Vegetable Garden
Of course, there are plenty of fruits, vegetables, and other foods that grow underwater. Just take seaweed, for example! However, there’s only one functional underwater garden with vegetables and fruits usually grown on land – that’s Nemo’s Garden in Italy. Nemo’s Garden is the world’s first underwater garden that grows basil, lettuce, tomatoes, peas, and more. The Ocean Reef Group, who created the project, wanted to design “an alternative system of agriculture, especially dedicated to those areas where environmental conditions, economical or morphologic reasons make plants growth extremely difficult.”
Sergio Gamberini, the founder of the Ocean Reef Group, says that underwater gardening will become a necessity as global warming worsens. After all, the process they have designed is very eco-friendly. It doesn’t damage the marine system and doesn’t need any artificial care. “The microclimate and thermal conditions within the biospheres are optimal for plant growth and crop yields, not unlike a conventional greenhouse, yet it requires no additional energy sources,” the Nemo’s Garden website reads.
Meanwhile, even though the garden is fully functioning, the team is always working hard to make it even better! “Every year, we are discovering new possible applications for the biospheres,” said Gianni Fontanesi, project coordinator at Nemo’s Garden. While Nemo’s Garden now knows success, it took the creators a long time to find it…
Finally Reopened
Creating Nemo’s Garden was tough enough. However, Gamberini, Fontanesi, and the rest of the team had to overcome even more catastrophes over the past few years. It all started with a terrible storm in 2019, one that threatened the whole complex. Then, only a few months later, the coronavirus pandemic struck, leaving the team unable to repair or visit the underwater garden. However, finally, in June of this year, the group returned to work and began growing again. The team says it is “more resilient than ever” now. Understandably so!
Today, Nemo’s Garden has even started allowing visitors once again. They hope by sharing their ideas on how to save the world, underwater gardening can become an idea spread worldwide. Currently, the garden is essentially a test lab. However, if the ideas spread, it could help reinforce food security not only throughout Italy, but also the rest of the world. We wish them luck!
Sources: Good News Network, Life And Soul Magazine, Nemo’s Garden Official Website.