Urban farming, square and simple

Brendan Condon (The Cape)’s urban farming and stormwater harvesting company Biofilta has partnered with injection moulding company Von Pace Group. From this venture the duo has launched “FoodCube”, a product that could to transform city spaces into highly productive, efficient urban farms.

At 1 square metre in size, this self-watering planter is a modular format designed for quick assembly, with the potential to occupy small footpath verges, expansive rooftops and entire city blocks almost instantly.

The product is simple to operate and low maintenance according to Biofilta, with each FoodCube module capable of storing 110 litres of water at its base.

The advanced wicking bed system uses capillary action to keep plants hydrated while storing enough water to keep the garden fed “for a week during summer and up to a month during Winter.”

The FoodCube is made with UV stabilised food grade plastic, more than 80 per cent of which comes from a waste stream otherwise destined for landfill.

“The FoodCube unit is also able to be recycled at end of life,” Von Pace Group’s manager Christian von Schassen said, “with the plastic able to be used for additional durable plastic products, which helps close the loop on plastic waste in our manufacturing process in future.”