Are your fingers green enough for this extreme gardening?
An unconventional project called Nemo’s Garden is building experimental greenhouses off the coast of Italy – and they’re underwater.
The submerged spheres house a small number of various plants, such as strawberries, beans and lettuce. The greenhouses take advantage of the sea’s steady temperatures and high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
To ensure these plants are receiving the optimum growing environment, the spheres are anchored six meters (20 feet) below the water's surface, and kept at a steamy 26°C (79°F) and 83% humidity.
Now in its fourth year of operation, Nemo’s Garden is the environmental research branch of the family-run Ocean Reef Group, a scuba gear production company.
The project is the innovative brainchild of Sergio Gamberini, president of Ocean Reef Group, the idea of which came to him while on vacation in Italy.
"I try to do something that's a little different and to show the beauty of the ocean," Gamberini said. "I hope to do something for the young people and to inspire new dreams."
After much experimenting, the company now has a fleet of biospheres, growing plants in the subaquatic realm.
You can check out Nemo’s Garden via livestream and see real-time data collected on the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the spheres.
[H/T: Washington Post]
