The Championships, Wimbledon is arguably one of the greatest, grandest, and most loved tennis tournaments in the world.
Our hospitality guests are able to taste some incredible dishes cooked by renowned chefs. Every element of a dish is important, and nothing is overlooked or put on the plate without careful thought or consideration. Even the smallest of garnishes on a plate are grown with the greatest of care, and our suppliers ensure they produce the freshest and tastiest ingredients. One of those suppliers is Growing Underground, a zero-carbon company with a plan to reach a series of milestones on the route to carbon negative farming.
So, let’s get to know Growing Underground a little more…
If you have ever paused to think where your food comes from, one place that might not initially spring to mind is 33 metres beneath Clapham High Street, but that’s exactly where some of the fresh greens and herbs gracing plates during this year’s Championships will have come from.
Built into a former WWII air raid shelter which runs below the Northern Line, Zero Carbon Farms (and its brand Growing Underground) is the brainchild of two school friends from Bristol with a dream of building a farm for a post-carbon world. Today, the farm grows a variety of microgreens, micro herbs and baby leaf salad. As an established local business, it has supplied many well-known supermarkets and some of the most exclusive restaurants in the capital.
Co-founder Richard Ballard recalls coming across the space a decade ago when he was studying for a film degree. He’d been filming hidden locations around the city as part of a course project and was immediately taken by the tunnels and their history. Once they had settled on the Clapham site and had taken possession of the keys from Transport for London (TfL), Ballard and his co-founder Steve Dring set about building their prototype growing benches and lighting rigs in the hope their plan to grow vegetables sustainably underground would work. According to Ballard, “It was cold and dark and there were no lights in the very early days, so we had to go down the 180 steps from ground level with torches. We also had to make sure that someone always knew where we were because if for any reason you got stuck down there, there was no phone reception and if you had an accident, you could be down there for days.”
Today, the farm is a hive of underground activity. It’s an example of urban controlled environment agriculture, powered by 100% renewable energy which runs its LED lights and using a ‘closed loop’ irrigation system which significantly reduces the amount of water needed by 70%, when compared to more traditional methods of growing. The current 580 square metres of growing space can grow up to 60 tonnes per year and with a new expansion project near completion, that capacity is set to double.
As the trains rumble overhead (which can be disconcerting for the first-time visitor!) the team of farm operatives, growers, technical experts and the farm’s plant scientist work hard to ensure that growing conditions remain optimal. Head Grower Tommaso Vermeir is responsible for monitoring conditions on the farm and working closely with his colleagues in the R&D team to ensure every day is the perfect growing day: “Our environmental controls, along with our ability to apply stress and support to our crops, help us to stimulate vigorous and resilient growth. Our scientific approach to cultivating the most healthy, tasty and nutrient-rich plants ensures our customers get the highest quality of produce possible.”
The way in which the microgreens are grown ensure they pack a flavourful and nutritional punch. Among the favourites currently on the farm are micro broccoli, micro purple radish, micro red cabbage, micro salad rocket and micro sunflower shoots. There are many other micros, herbs and leaves growing at any one time, and the fast turn-around time (between 10 to 17 days from seed to harvest) means that crops can be grown to order for special menus. Because the farm is local to its customers, crops can get from farm to fork within four hours of harvest and the sooner they get to customers, the longer their shelf-life.
Much of the growing process is still artisanal. The seeds are soaked and then sown by hand on to reconstituted matting made from carpet offcuts, which is able to hold the right amount of water, encourage germination and provide enough ‘hold’ for a healthy root system to develop. It also provides a second life for a product which would otherwise go straight to landfill.
Taiwo Falayi, the farm’s Head of Technical and Sustainability is responsible for ensuring that the co-founders’ mission to create a sustainable, low carbon farm is kept under constant review and is always looking for ways to improve on its sustainability credentials. In 2021, the company achieved B-Corp status, making it the first farm of its kind in the UK to do so and the second in the world to achieve the standards required. Falayi is responsible for working on the farm’s carbon calculations and looking for ever more sustainable packaging and delivery options. Where possible, carbon-free deliveries across the capital are made by electric bike, powered by renewables and Solomon, the farm’s intrepid rider. As Falayi says, “The mission has always been to grow food that does you good while doing the planet good. My colleagues take care of the greens and I make sure that everything we do is as sustainable and climate friendly as possible.”
In the coming year, the farm hopes to expand beyond its current site in south London while maintaining the same commitment to getting its sustainable, fresh produce onto plates around the capital.
We’re looking forward to seeing how the micro-herbs and greens look on the dishes at Wimbledon in the next two weeks. Keep an eye out on our social media for more of Growing Underground, and what we saw when we went to visit them in the coming weeks…
Discover more about Keith Prowse’s sustainability commitment coming soon, both in our office and at our events.