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Growing Underground blue gloved hand holding handful of seedlings cress young green plans shoots

Growing Underground

Industry
Food & Drink
Salad
Location
Clapham, London
Workforce Size
35
Website
zerocarbonfarms.co.uk/clapham-farm
Est
2016

Growing Underground grows fresh microgreens and salad leaves in a converted World War II air raid shelter 33 metres beneath the streets of Clapham, using hydroponic systems and LED lighting to produce pesticide-free greens year-round. The company runs on 100% renewable energy and uses 70% less water than traditional farming.

Growing Underground man with arms crossed standing outside building with Growing under ground written on blue wall behind him
Growing Underground man in food safety clothing blue jacket and mask and yellow boots surrounded by white shelves growing basil

The Business

Co-founders Richard Ballard and Steve Dring decided that a deserted subterranean space beneath Clapham High Street was a perfect site to grow food while cutting the CO2 used in transport and supply. The site itself is one of eight deep-level bomb shelters built around London during World War II, and the Clapham shelter was constructed between 1940 and 1942, at one point housing 8,000 troops in a labyrinth of tunnels stretching more than two miles, over 100 feet underground. The shelters also served as temporary accommodation for post-war Caribbean migrants who arrived on the Empire Windrush. Thirty-three metres below Clapham High Street, the farm has been described as the world's first underground farm, shaping the future of urban farming.

The microgreens and salad leaves are grown using hydroponic systems and LED technology and contain up to ninety times more nutrients than when they are fully grown, according to Growing Underground. By 2022 the company was aiming to produce over 60 tonnes of produce a year from a 528m² growing area, roughly the size of a tennis court, enough to meet the yearly lettuce consumption of 10,000 adults, and the site can produce up to 1,600 punnets of herbs and micro-plants a day, supplying retailers such as M&S and Tesco.

Factory Visit

"This was quite an experience descending deep underground, beneath busy Clapham - you would never know this hydroponics farm was there. It seems a very clever way of producing nutritious food in cities, requiring far less resources and 'food miles' than traditional farming. It will be interesting to see if other cities follow suit." Carmel King photographed Growing Underground in February 2021 for Made in London.

Growing Underground grey curved staircase with orange painted hand rail
Growing Underground white corrugated room with red and blue jackets hanging from hooks and yellow wellington boots on floor
Growing Underground plant seeds being spread out on growing tray or table by employee in blue coat and gloves and hair net
Growing Underground plant seeds being poured for scoop into container on scales
Growing Underground hand holding plant seeds
Growing Underground yellow bucket full of seeds
Growing Underground yellow green seeds spread out on growing tray
Growing Underground
Growing Underground man in blue food hygiene clothing and yellow boots pushing trolley of blue trays in white room
Growing Underground shelves of blue trays with plant shots beginning to appear white stems green tops
Growing Underground employee in yellow boots red coat and hairnet sitting on blue stool tending to plants on white shelves
Growing Underground purple sprouting plants shoots on white tray
Growing Underground trays of bright green plants shoots sprouts
Growing Underground hand in blue glove showing roots of sprouting plants in tray
Growing Underground multiple trays stacked on trolleys of bright green plants shoots sprouts
Growing Underground blue gloved hand cutting sections of green plants food on workbench
Growing Underground clear plastic containers green plants shoots sprouts
No items found.
"Clapham is our USP. And it's energy-efficient, because it's a naturally controlled environment."
Richard Ballard, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
Growing Underground green box full of plastic containers labelled as micro basil
Growing Underground man pushing tall trolley through room of white shelves of sprouting red cabbage plants shoots

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