Episode details

Radio 4,09 Jul 2026,14 mins
09/07/26 Growing crops in a mine, scallop fishing, RHS Badminton
Farming TodayAvailable for 22 days
How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It鈥檚 a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby. They鈥檙e collaborating with Farm Urban, a company that specialises in vertical farming, but usually going up vertically rather than down; and they reckon this is the world鈥檚 deepest vertical farm. We鈥檙e taking a close look at commercial fishing all this week. Ten years on from the Brexit vote leading to the UK leaving the EU, some in the industry say that decision has had a lasting impact on their businesses, and not a good one. We hear from a scallop business in Scotland which says the industry needs more support. This year, the Royal Horticultural Society鈥檚 annual show which is usually at Hampton Court has upped sticks and moved to the Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. It鈥檚 not just a good excuse for some of us to get out the floaty dress and sunhat for a summer鈥檚 day out, events like this are an important showcase for the commercial nurseries who grow and sell the plants we buy for our gardens. Presenter = Caz Graham Producer = Rebecca Rooney
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