Crops kept in suspense

The Rotary Club's 'vertical' Growbag.

Rochdale Rotary Club is working with the Council's Environment Department to grow crops vertically, suspended above the ground.

They claim the feat, which uses growbags specially designed by the Rotary Club, is the only project of its kind in the UK and a declaration to this effect was signed by the District Governor and the Council on Saturday (18 July).

A spokesperson for the club said: "The advantage of growing vertically is obvious, where urban land is at a premium it makes sense to grow plants on top of one-another, something similar to high rise apartments in city centres."

With work on the first ‘vertical farm’ already in progress, the Rotary Club hope to send out their unique Growbags free to schools, the elderly and the disabled, as well for use at allotment trials.

The Rotary Club developed the Growbag over a 12 month period. The initial design was made from tubular polythene and makes use of a basic heat sealer, making the product cost effective. Its innovative design is intended to maximise the conservation of water.

Ultimately, they hope that their project will pave the way for schemes in countries where water and food are in short supply.

The use of the Growbag is simple: a high 'scaffold' is erected over an allotment patch, creating storeys onto which the Growbags can be fixed thus capitalising space. The rotary club believes that the use of their invention will help generate five times as many crops.