The beauty of the ocean – wild and peaceful and magical – made up of rebuttal and enigma.
The tide is full and the gleams capture the heart of the sea – metaphors for anguish and love, among many other things. In addition to that, the ocean has played a huge role in the history of many beliefs, cultures – making It intimately personal and vastly universal.
Then beneath the blue waves – one can see the beauty of underwater creatures up close — they serve as ornaments and pearls of the ocean.
Ocean seems to open endless possibilities – its melancholy provides us peace and serenity. Which makes us think that the ocean may always be the answer?
But is it really?
For instance, could underwater farming be a viable alternative to traditional farming? And is it even possible?
An experiment was done to highlight the probability of growing crops. Nemo’s Garden — based off the coast of Noli in Italy – a research project that scuba divers and agronomist develop to grow crops in pods on the seabed and use it as an alternative to traditional farming – in which the latter has been damaging the environment. The owner of a traditional farming’s usual problem the crops suffering in the cold weather – underwater farming whereas Nemo’s garden uses the near constant temperature of the sea to make growing crops easier.
It all started with a vision – a mere curiosity during the summer of 2012. Sergio Gamberini in 2011 – while hanging out with the local farmers. Then 2 years after, Ocean Reef Group created a kick-star campaign to fund the Nemo’s garden project and since then, the said project has grown in leaps and bounds when it comes to growing wide variety of crops – from lettuce to red cabbage to basils, beans and strawberries. In addition, it has been able to grow other herbs and crops for medical purposes, with great success. It uses a version of hydroponics, generating fresh and clean water through desalination – thus the use of the soil is not necessary. Seawater within the structures vaporizes, drops condense on the roof and then drip back down as fresh water to cater for the herbs and vegetables.
The next stage will incorporate the establishment of an observation pod and intervertebral forest– which intends to generate fertilizer for the plants
So far, the team has learned that plants grow quicker underwater and that growing plants under the sea has no detrimental effects on them – a constant temperature, lack of pests and diseases which then reduces the utilization of pesticides.
The venture from what many perceived as an ‘’odd experiment’’ worked out in the end after all. And it’s just only the beginning.
