Underwater farming? Biosphere grows strawberries, basil and lettuce deep in the Mediterranean

Strawberries, basil and lettuce are flourishing in a new biosphere farm anchored to the floor of the Mediterranean Sea off Italy’s Ligurian coast.

Nemo’s Garden, which grows without soil or pesticides, sprouted from an idea by Sergio Gamberini, a scuba diver who also has a passion for gardening, according to the project’s website.

The self-sustainable farm has six clear plastic pods filled with air and held to the seafloor by chains and screws.

The biosphere, off the coast of Noli, Italy floats between 15 feet and 33 feet below the water’s surface, depending on the most beneficial location for the crops.

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The underwater greenhouses hold about 2,000 liters of air, have carbon dioxide and oxygen sensors that monitor air quality, illumination and temperature around the clock.

The project’s aim is to create “an alternative system of agriculture for those areas where environmental conditions make plants growth difficult,” Ocean Reef’s website states.

Maintaining the conditions the plants need, such as a constant temperature, light, and freshwater, are less challenging under the sea, where temperatures rarely vary and exposure to the sun is abundant.

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