No sun, no soil, and robot farmers: Is this tomorrows food crop? – The Age

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Climate change is coming closer and when the shit hits the fan, as it has [with coronavirus] in the last year, we have to be able to adapt. Our food systems need to be resilient and we need to be resilient. To be able to be a farmer in this new climate, you have got to know about technology and about biology; you have got to think about design; and you have to be on top of how to regenerate soil. The farmer of the future is not solely focused on a crop but on the whole approach that takes place around it. Its a change in skill requirements.

Hendrix, who grew up in Belgium and moved to Australia 11 years ago when he was working in the brewery industry, says he made the shift into farming when, about five years ago, he started thinking about how he might work in an area that better reflected his concerns about the environment and living with zero waste.

The beer industry is fine in your 20s, but in my 30s I needed to do something with more meaning. He set up his business, called Farmwall, in July 2017, with a view to developing durable and attractive growing systems that would help people working in offices, restaurants, schools and other places to transform cities into food-producing ecosystems.

Hendrix began working with engineers, scientists, designers and horticulturalists to develop ways to grow not necessarily huge amounts of food but in very specific ways.

As well as a zero-waste, do-it-yourself microgreens-growing kit that involves both aquaponic and hydroponic systems and provides access to online classes and communication networks, Farmwall has installed its hydroponic shelving system in a number of offices.

Hendrix is also working on projects to get more food grown in restaurants and hospitals as well as in underutilised city spaces such as car parks (now that more of us are working from home) and on rooftops.

If we can educate people about small-scale, closed-loop food systems and design our cities with food and nature in mind, it will make a huge difference to our personal wellbeing and to the planet, Hendrix says. All the technologies exist, all the natural ways exist but with climate change we have to get in front of the game.

farmwall.com

Now is the time to plant hellebores.Credit:Josh Robenstone

What to do in your garden right now

Bare rooted fruit trees are in nurseries and are cheaper than potted ones and present none of the problems associated with circling and kinking roots. Because these trees are grown in the open ground and dug up with only about half their roots intact, its important to prune the branches by up to one-half to keep the root-to-shoot ratio in balance. Some nurseries will do this for you.

Take a good look at your bare winter garden and check you are happy with the placement of your beds and plants. It is much easier to assess the lie of the land at this time of year than in warmer months when everything is in full leaf.

Plant hellebores which are starting to flower now in spots with summer shade but winter light. They can handle most soil types, except particularly sandy ones, and will tolerate frost.

Cut back canna lilies to just above the ground, and add the removed stems to your compost. Come spring they will be shooting again.

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No sun, no soil, and robot farmers: Is this tomorrows food crop? - The Age