Do you believe that high-quality vegetables without insects or pollution can be grown under the sea?

The May 3 issue of Nature News published a photo, claiming to be the best science picture of the month selected by the Nature photography team. It was taken by photographer Giacomo d'Orlando and won third place in the Environment category of this year's international Sony World Photography Competition (below).

This photo was taken 20 feet below the surface of the sea near the village of Noli on the coast of Liguria, Italy, where an underwater farm called "Nemo's Garden" was built.

The bizarre Nemo Garden project is an exploratory project that was created on a whim by Sergio Gamberini, the founder and owner of Ocean Reef Group. Originally, the company was just a diving project operator, but after Sergio hit on the idea, he started developing a project on how to grow plants on the seabed in 2012.

Their original intention was to utilize Italy's marine resources, explore how to achieve cultivation in environments where there seemed to be no conditions, and achieve scale and reduce costs, so as to provide cultivation solutions for some arid areas near the sea in the future.

Sergio and his son started construction in 2013. They put on diving suits and fixed several plastic balls 8 meters underwater about 100 meters from the coast to form a small biosphere inside the balls, where they planted plants, including vegetables, flowers and other plants.

This seemingly scientific exploration did not start smoothly. The first obstacle was the legal level. The Italian government did not allow any company or organization to build permanent facilities underwater for environmental protection. After much mediation, Sergio finally got permission to build an underwater farm, but the farm facilities could only remain underwater for three months each year.

This does not seem to be a permanent facility, which solves the legal problem, but brings great difficulties to the design. Because these underwater farm facilities must not only withstand the pressure of seawater and the impact of ocean currents, but also be able to be dismantled at any time. The result of repeated experiments is that the underwater farm is designed as an "ecological ball". They built 6 "ecological balls" with steel frames and plexiglass, and fixed them with steel frames on the seabed at a depth of 8 meters.

Since the project started, it has been questioned by the society. Many people think that this kind of project is completely idle and meaningless, and it destroys the natural beauty of the sea. Some even maliciously attack it, thinking that it is sensationalism or even some conspiracy.

But Sergio remained unmoved and stuck to his original intention. He believed that this exploration would have great significance for the future expansion and sustainability of agriculture, especially for those areas close to the sea where the land is poor and difficult to grow crops.

Problems that need to be solved and advantages of underwater planting So, how to solve the lighting and irrigation systems when planting plants in seawater, and what are the advantages?

In fact, the sea area chosen for Nemo Garden has plenty of sunlight. At 6 to 8 meters underwater, there is enough light to ensure the photosynthesis needs of plants. In winter or on cloudy days when there is insufficient light, researchers installed LED lighting in the eco-sphere to supplement the lack of natural light with artificial light.

The fresh water needed for irrigation is automatically provided by the evaporation of seawater inside the biosphere. These spheres are fixed on the seabed and filled with air. The seawater inside the sphere evaporates due to the temperature difference inside the sphere and condenses on the surface of the sphere. The fresh plants planted inside rely on the condensed water on the inner wall of the sphere to meet their water needs.

My understanding is that these spheres are not closed on the bottom. The upper part of the sphere is occupied by air, and the bottom is filled with sea water. In this way, due to the temperature difference within the sphere, the sea water continuously evaporates and condenses on the sphere, forming a small ecosystem in continuous circulation.

Sensors are installed inside the sphere to allow managers to instantly grasp the humidity, pH value, temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, etc. inside the biosphere. The high concentration of carbon dioxide inside is the favorite of plants. They absorb enough carbon dioxide like taking steroids and grow abnormally rapidly.

There are at least two major advantages to developing underwater farming: one is constant temperature. The temperature difference between day and night in seawater is very small. On the continental shelf along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, the water temperature is around 25°C in late June, and the temperature inside the globe can reach 29°C, which is the most suitable temperature for the growth of vegetables and other plants. The second is that there is no insect pest, allowing plants to thrive in an environment that is not affected by insects and parasites.

The second point is, of course, that the seeds and soil must be properly treated before planting, and parasites and insect eggs must be eliminated. This cannot be done on land. Because there are insects and various parasites invading on land at any time, there is no such worry in the water. This kind of vegetable is truly organic and pollution-free healthy food.

However, due to current legal constraints, Nemo Garden can only conduct experiments from May to September each year, and the only plants that have been successfully grown in the greenhouse are basil, lettuce, strawberries, beans, etc.

Development prospects and trends The success of Nemo Garden has attracted widespread attention and heated discussions from the international community. Some capital teams have asked to join, but Sergio is very cautious. In July 2021, Nemo Garden reached a cooperation with Siemens of Germany, which greatly increased the strength of this business. At the beginning of the cooperation, an international team was formed, including scientists, engineers and divers, with the task of improving existing technologies, and gradually realizing industrialization and cost optimization, forming the world's first base for sustainable food alternatives.

Now, Nemo Garden has begun planning to increase the number of greenhouses and try to increase the varieties of crops grown, such as tomatoes, green beans, and fungi that are suitable for growing in humid environments, to find more possibilities for development; at the same time, Sergio has also begun to manufacture some small biospheres based on the accumulated technology and sell them to aquariums; he is also exploring some underwater sightseeing and tourism projects combined with Nemo Garden.

In this way, Nemo Garden in the future may achieve economic benefits and become a business model that the world can imitate. It can be foreseen that after years of hardships, this flower of science and technology has broken through the ground and may have entered a stage of thriving growth. Will it flourish in the future? We will wait and see.

I think that in the long run, the climate change of the earth is showing a worsening trend, and the greenhouse effect is becoming increasingly apparent, which will bring great uncertainty to land agriculture. The ocean area of ​​the earth occupies 70%, and underwater can filter out radiation and many other problems that are difficult to solve on land. If we can really use this vast space to carry out large-scale planting, it will be a great blessing for the human beings on earth.

Therefore, I strongly support this kind of exploration. However, it is also necessary to strictly control and regulate development. If it is left to chance, it may not be worth the loss and cause irreparable damage to the marine ecology. What do you think? Welcome to discuss, thank you for reading.

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