I remember seeing an ad for the Tower Garden on TV a few years ago. It almost seemed like Jack had planted his beanstalk as you watched the seedlings grow into small plants and bear fruits and vegetables. A group of passionate people at LA Urban Farms is taking the concept of the Tower Garden to a whole new scale, while changing the urban landscape of Los Angeles.

Tower Of Power

Organic produce might be the rage, but it takes time to come to you. The Tower Garden can be placed on your rooftop, terrace or in your backyard, and bears healthy and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables for your table -- not to mention flowers for your centerpiece! It uses sustainable aeroponic technology that grows produce 30 percent faster with 90 percent less land and up to 95 percent less water than soil-based farming while using no harmful chemicals or artificial fertilizers.

Nutritarian diets like Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" recommend eating foods that are rich in micronutrients; the more nutrients per calorie of food, the better your health and well being. Eating freshly harvested produce from a Tower Garden means you are getting the best possible nutrient bang for your buck, especially necessary for people living in highly polluted urban areas like Los Angeles.

The Tower Garden is 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet and has a vertical structure that minimizes space used. The towers come in residential and commercial configurations. The tower has stackable slots that hold 44 plants in a commercial tower and 28 pots in a residential tower. And the Tower Garden recycles 100 percent of its nutrient solution.

The Tower Garden can be placed on your rooftop and uses sustainable aeroponic technology that grows produce 30 percent faster with 90 percent less land and up to 95 percent less water.

Roots

How did this magical sounding technology come into being?

LA Urban Farms partners with Future Growing, LLC, whose founder and CEO Tim Blank is the inventor of this revolutionary technology. Several of Future Growing's commercial projects are well known, such as the urban garden at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and "roof to table" restaurants in New York and other cities.

Blank grew up in western North Dakota where agriculture dominated the scene. A visit to The Walt Disney Company's futuristic Epcot Theme Park introduced Blank to "The Land," where he was fascinated by the hydroponic technology used to grow plants. He went on to study horticulture and later ended up working at Disney for several years, managing the greenhouses and honing his skills in biotechnology and aeroponic food production.

The Sky Is The Limit

LA Urban Farms has some ambitious projects at hand. The rooftop farm at 604 Arizona, Santa Monica, will be a fully functioning farm with 250 towers -- eleven thousand plants that will provide food and sustenance to residents, onsite cafes and local restaurants and farmers markets.

LA Urban Farms grows kale, chard, sugar snap peas, eggplant, bok choy, peppers, nasturtium, cilantro, parsley, basil, Greek oregano, chives, a variety of lettuces, red spinach, mizuna, arugula and shiso, to name just a few of the possible crops.

LA Urban Farms works with communities, organizations and businesses that would like to replicate the LA Urban Farms model and create their own urban farm. LA Urban Farms also sell these aeroponic towers for home use for people who would like to grow themselves in their own backyard or patio. This is really amazing for all of the foodies, gardeners, activists and locavores living in apartments who have always wanted to grow food but never had the space - a small balcony is easily enough for 30 - 60 plants.

LA Urban Farms wants to start an organic urban food growing movement and is showing people how it can be easily done -- even in a place like LA.