Today’s post is possibly a little off the 5pm Dining blog’s usual patch but it really tweaked our curiosity.
After all, it’s not every day that you hear about a World War II bomb shelter being turned into a state-of-the-art, low-energy farm.
Bomb shelter to farm
The fantastically named Growing Underground is London’s first subterranean farm and it will start trading for the first time in mid-July.
Set in old WWII tunnels beneath the Northern Line at Clapham, the farm is the brainchild of West Country entrepreneurs Richard Ballard and Steven Dring, in partnership with the Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr.
The tunnels were used during World War II as a bomb shelter for London residents. The current site was designed to accommodate 8,000 Londoners. It now accommodates a sophisticated lighting and irrigation system.
The first crops include pea shoots, several varieties of radish, mustard, coriander, Red Amaranth, celery, parsley and rocket.
The plants are grown in a sealed clean-room environment with a bespoke ventilation system, advanced lighting and a sophisticated irrigation system that enable the farm to produce crops at very low energy.
The farm’s mission is to deliver fresh produce with zero effect on the environment and all energy is sourced from green suppliers.
World’s first underground urban farm
‘We’re delighted that our first shoots will be delivered to the surface in the next few weeks,’ said co-founder Richard Ballard. ‘After eighteen months of research, development, growing trials – and tribulations – we’re about to start supplying into the market.’
Michel Roux Jr said: ‘I’m looking forward to creating my first dish using produce from the world’s first underground urban farm, less than two miles as the crow flies from the heart of London. It’s great to be involved in this ambitious project, for which we have equally ambitious growth plans. Above all, it’s fantastic to be able to source produce that is so fresh in the heart of Britain’s largest city.”
Growing Underground’s first commercial client will be County Supplies London, supplying restaurants via Covent Garden market.