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Photos: In London, WWII air-raid shelter is site for urban farm project

In Clapham, London, a former WWII abandoned air-raid shelter has now become the site for a vast urban farm project called 'Growing Underground.' This pioneering initiative supplies to big supermarkets and restaurants in London.

Updated on: Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM IST

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Under an anonymous back street in south London, lies a vast underground air-raid shelter that has been turned into a pioneering urban farm supplying supermarkets and restaurants in the capital. An employee, Daiva, inspects the crops at the urban farm project, ‘Growing Underground’, in Clapham, south London. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

Under an anonymous back street in south London, lies a vast underground air-raid shelter that has been turned into a pioneering urban farm supplying supermarkets and restaurants in the capital. An employee, Daiva, inspects the crops at the urban farm project, ‘Growing Underground’, in Clapham, south London. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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This is the site of the underground air-raid shelter, now turned urban farm project by two entrepreneurs, Steven Dring and Richard Ballard. The World War II shelter in Clapham was designed to protect up to 8,000 people from Nazi German bombs and consisted of two large tunnels that were intended to one day become an extension of the London Underground. That never happened and the shelter lay abandoned for 70 years. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

This is the site of the underground air-raid shelter, now turned urban farm project by two entrepreneurs, Steven Dring and Richard Ballard. The World War II shelter in Clapham was designed to protect up to 8,000 people from Nazi German bombs and consisted of two large tunnels that were intended to one day become an extension of the London Underground. That never happened and the shelter lay abandoned for 70 years. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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Garlic chive crops being cultivated at the urban farm project, ‘Growing Underground’. Steven Dring and Richard Ballard decided to grow broccoli, coriander, fennel and a host of other vegetables as so-called micro leaves, also known as micro herbs, grown from seedlings but harvested early when the first leaves form. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

Garlic chive crops being cultivated at the urban farm project, ‘Growing Underground’. Steven Dring and Richard Ballard decided to grow broccoli, coriander, fennel and a host of other vegetables as so-called micro leaves, also known as micro herbs, grown from seedlings but harvested early when the first leaves form. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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Crops sown onto a carpet base grow in a high humidity environment. The ‘Growing Underground’ project sends its data on humidity, temperature and plant growth to Cambridge University to try and improve efficiency. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

Crops sown onto a carpet base grow in a high humidity environment. The ‘Growing Underground’ project sends its data on humidity, temperature and plant growth to Cambridge University to try and improve efficiency. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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The ‘sustainably grown’ label can be found on a supermarket’s Italian salad mix. Clients include Marks and Spencer, which offers the produce in some of its supermarkets, several stalls at London’s Borough Market and many restaurants. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

The ‘sustainably grown’ label can be found on a supermarket’s Italian salad mix. Clients include Marks and Spencer, which offers the produce in some of its supermarkets, several stalls at London’s Borough Market and many restaurants. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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The co-founder of the ‘Growing Underground’ project, Steven Dring during the inspection of the crops. Dring and Ballard latched onto the concept of vertical farming -- producing food in vertically stacked layers -- which was developed by US biologist Dickson Despommier in his 2010 book ‘The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century’. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

The co-founder of the ‘Growing Underground’ project, Steven Dring during the inspection of the crops. Dring and Ballard latched onto the concept of vertical farming -- producing food in vertically stacked layers -- which was developed by US biologist Dickson Despommier in his 2010 book ‘The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century’. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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The micro greens seeds are processed inside buckets filled with water. The vegetables are grown with hydroponics, using nutrient solutions in a water solvent instead of soil. The technique can also be used to grow a wide range of produce including tomatoes and baby peppers, according to Dring. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

The micro greens seeds are processed inside buckets filled with water. The vegetables are grown with hydroponics, using nutrient solutions in a water solvent instead of soil. The technique can also be used to grow a wide range of produce including tomatoes and baby peppers, according to Dring. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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Coriander is cultivated under LED lights at the urban farm project. The tunnels have no natural light and are illuminated with pink LEDs, lending them a futuristic look. The intensity of the light changes to imitate daylight, but with one major difference -- the lights are dimmed during the day and shine brightest at night, as electricity is cheapest then. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on Sep 29, 2017 12:40 PM

Coriander is cultivated under LED lights at the urban farm project. The tunnels have no natural light and are illuminated with pink LEDs, lending them a futuristic look. The intensity of the light changes to imitate daylight, but with one major difference -- the lights are dimmed during the day and shine brightest at night, as electricity is cheapest then. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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