SERGIO AND LUCA GAMBERINI are passionate scuba divers who think big. They figured out how to grow basil, lettuce, and strawberries underwater. As the president of Ocean Reef Group, a family-run group founded 60 years ago that focuses its business on scuba gear production, Sergio was used to developing wild ideas involving diving.

Gamberini was curious to find out if a large body of water could actually provide everything that traditionally soil-grown plants need, without any of the detrimental effects that terrestrial farming has on the environment.

Sergio set out with Luca and Ocean Reef Group to develop small, transparent balloons into shallow ocean waters. The balloons are anchored, filled with air, and supplied with vases containing plant seeds. The ocean and the sun do the rest.

Their “Nemo’s Garden” now consists of seven pods. The red spectrum of the sun’s rays provide light and food, the evaporated seawater waters the crops, and the balloons are naturally temperature-controlled. The result is an effective underwater greenhouse.

Source: matadornetwork.com