CONCRETE FARM LAB believes that good, healthy, balanced, pesticide-free, consciously consumed food has strong implications for health, culture, lifestyle and the sake of the planet.

Concrete Farm Lab is a DIY farming experiment in the heart of flourishing BedStuy, Brooklyn.

 

Growing 50+ organic veggies using different techniques including permaculture in a 300sqf backyard, as well as indoor hydroponics and aquaponics system with pacu fish.

 

Concrete Farm Lab aims to grow hyper local organic veggies from our experimental farm and share delicious fresh meals.

 

We are passionate about nurturing every seed and regenerating the soil. Here at CF Lab, we understand the endless benefits of living organisms. Everyday our plants teach us the values of being observant, patient, persistent with determination to flourish and thrive.

CYRILLE & NASHAY

Hydroponics

nutrients film technique (NFT) in our basement

This is a total DIY system using nutrients film technique :

 

It’s composed of 6 x 5 ft. vinyl fence and 27 gl. reservoir. System works with water pump that inject nutrients into the tray and by gravity goes back to the reservoir. Each tray has one air stone in order to provide plenty of oxygen. We use as a medium hydroton clay pellets in dixie cups. We are growing kale, collards, romaine salad , tomatoes, basil, parsley  and many of the aromatic herbs.

 

Growing area is 4 x 4 ft and typically for 16 sqft  area you will need at least 480 watts (30 watts per sqft), we decided to use 600 watt LED light.

Aquaponics

Aquaponics system
in our basement

For this DIY system we use as much as possible recycled materials.

 

Our fish tank is a 70 gl. recycled bath tub rescued from the next door neighbor. He was delighted to know the tub would be put to good use. The grow bed is 2 x 4 ft. and use a combination of hydroton pebbles and clay pellets (100 Lbs). The drainage is done by 6 inch bell siphon subsequently the nutrients flow (fish poop ) in to multiple floating trays for lettuce and water crest production. Our growing bed will accommodate deeper root vegetable such as Swiss chard, radishes etc.

 

LED light for this system : 8 strips of 20 watts Led light positioned fairly close to the growing area.

Permaculture

Permaculture Garden
in our backyard

Our back and front yard are build on permaculture fundamental principles, which revolve around the notion of giving back before receiving.

 

With limited city outdoor space, CF Lab started by building raised beds. In most urban areas, soil is depleted of nutrients contaminated by lead paint and other pollutants. Bringing organic vegetal such as mulch, leaves, cardboard and compost amends the soil. This enriches the soil by creating an environment for healthy bacteria, worms and other insects which are essential to produce healthy fruits and vegetables.

 

Permaculture is a precise knowledge of human farming system and crop design using ecological principles to replicate the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is a method of ecological land management, designed to create a stable, self-sufficient system without using chemicals.

INDOOR VERTICAL TOWER

Vertical Tower for salads
in our pilates room

This is another DIY system we build with the idea of occupying less footage space. This is why we decided to go with 10 7 ft. zip grow towers. We set up a dripping irrigation system 0.5 gl. per hour and UV sterilizer to avoid any algae build up. For this system we decided to grow full spectrum light from Agrivolution. We have 20 Led stripe measuring 3 ft. each.

 

We can yield 140 lettuce a month with this system.

Greenhouse

Tiny Greenhouse
in our backyard

This fall we installed a tiny green house in our backyard which specific functions will be to produce throughout the cold months and to start much earlier in the year the seedlings process.

CHICK FRIENDS

Grace, Dalhia
and Sophie

Last Spring tree new friends joined our urban farm. We installed a chicken house in our backyard.

Grace (Australorp) / Dalhia (Polish chicken) / Sophie (Silkie)

We produce according to the principles of permaculture, a science of crop design, human farming systems, using ecological principles to replicate the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. Without chemicals and thus compatible with organic farming, the technique of permaculture is a precise knowledge, rare yet little developed, which allows higher yields than those of intensive agriculture supported by chemicals. This efficient technique will be mixed with the production of vegetables under greenhouse, allowing production throughout the year.

 

Follow our website as we have more and more stories to tell.

seeds

We use ancient and local seeds to promote more resilient varieties. We believe “healing is in the seed”. More to come soon.

Energy saving

Concrete Farm continues to explore sustainable energy options by learning how to balance the energy input / output. We’ll tell you about the wind turbine we intend to set up on the front yard.

Importance of living ecosystem

with the garden, life comes back. More soon about plants, worms, snails, spiders, birds, and possibly two chicken…

Cyrille Guyot

As an executive and entrepreneur for the last 25+ years, Cyrille has always been passionate about solving the evolving problems between product, service and customer. Most renowned for his ability to build bridges and create sustainable models. He has held Several senior Executive titles during his tenure at P&G cosmetics in Europe, Asia and North America before founding his own company, Beauty Etcetera.

Paris born and long time New Yorker, he has now taken his vast professional experience in the HBC, health and beauty and Care industry to solve the problems between farmers, distributors, and consumers.

Using innovative and disruptive technologies, Cyrille is creating a sustainable agricultural ecosystem that is scalable while maintaining intimate connection to end users.  Over the last few years, Cyrille has become a self-taught farmer himself and his Brooklyn brownstone garden became a prototype to experiment, research and learn from Permaculture, Aquaponic and Hydroponic fundamentals. Concrete Farm offers a new way to think about urban farming – one that is transparent and community driven, where humanity, and profitability can coexist.

Nashay Morris

Nashay Morris is a certified Stott Pilates Instructor and self taught Vegan Chef from Southern California, based in Brooklyn, New York. Having studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Nashay comes from 15 years of fashion design, production, and styling.

Fascinated with the healing benefits of living food, Nashay traded in fashion for the leafy green microcosm. She immersed herself for years in learning the holistic culinary approach, and apprenticed under Las Vegas Celebrity Vegan Chef Stacey Dougan.

Today, Nashay is the founder of Adore Your Core NYC, delivering green power juices to corporate workspaces. She is an established personal vegan chef, and enjoys teaching physical core practices.

Ece Soner

New York City based Creative Director Ece Soner has a unique combination of skills that radiate creative talent. She has 15 years experience in design, advertising, fashion and beauty industries.

Her client list includes Vodafone, Nokia, Peugeot, Toyota, Diageo, P&G, Eizo, Agent Provocateur, Greenpeace, Beauty Etcetera New York, L’Officiel Magazine, Marie Claire Magazine and more.

She is the Branding Designer and Creative Director of Concrete Farm Lab. Ece’s broad creative design skills helped our project to get exposure in the U.S as well as in the international media.
Along her vital role for Cf Lab, she continues to create multidisciplinary design experiences for technology, fashion and clean beauty brands.

Stephane Siboni

Stephane Siboni is the co-founder and CEO of Ardency Inn, an award-winning disruptive makeup brand. Prior to founding Ardency Inn, Stephane had an extensive management consulting experience. He was Managing Director at Lexagon Group in New York and Principal at The Boston Consulting Group’s New York office. He is an expert in identifying unique business opportunities and developing growth and M&A strategies, and has significant expertise in customer insight and segmentation, in the consumer goods, retail, media and telecom industries. Stephane was previously an Associate in Mergers & Acquisitions at Lehman Brothers in New York. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Angelique Renaud

Angelique’s passion for nature since her young age, lead her to study the impact of weed management practices on small insects in a vineyard during her PhD. Then she worked in import and export for more than 10 years, became an hypnotherapist at the same time and finally works in IT. She does her best to live a healthy life by practicing yoga and meditation and reducing her impact on her environment.

Consequently, very much concerned about the planet fate and always willing to improve human condition, she met Cyrille and Nashay during a trip to New York in 2019. She saw visionaries in them and was immediately convinced about their pragmatism and energy. She started to grow her own vegetables on her terrace in the south of France, and most of all, she wanted to be part of the Concrete Farm Lab project by preaching the good word to the world !

Zoar

Zoar, is a Southern American Cocker Spaniel from Louisiana, based in Brooklyn.

As a young pup, he had a palette for young raw broccoli heads, steamed sweet potatoes and fresh watermelon pulp. Zoar understood early on, incorporating vegetables to his prepared carnivorous meals is essential to his overall well being. 7 years later, his passion for sharing with dogs all around the world the nutritious value of greens in there meal, is still going strong.

Zoar presently serves as the mascot of Concrete Farm, and does quality control consulting.

BOOK A TOUR

You will visit all our system and we will explain thoroughly our various farming techniques (Permaculture – Aquaponic – Hydroponic) so you can start your own project back home.

ADORE YOUR CORE

Ultra Fresh and Organic Green Juice

Cold pressed with produce harvested FRESH from Concrete Farm Lab and Local NY Organic farms.

Oxygenates Our Cells

Potent Antioxidant Properties

Hydrating

Boost Energy

Detoxifier

Improves Mental Clarity

Alkalizer

Promotes Healing

ADOREYOURCORE.NYC

RÉVOLUTION PAYSANNE À BROOKLYN

L’EXPRESS FRANCE

DU MICRO-FARMING EN PLEIN

COEUR DE BROOKLYN!

BRANDINGINNYC.COM

BROOKLYN, TERRE AGRICOLE

THEGOODGOODS.FR

Dans sa maison de Brooklyn, ce Normand imagine l’agriculture

frenchmorning.com

PIONNIER DE L’AGRICULTURE URBAINE

OUEST FRANCE

New York: berceau des “fermiers des villes”, laboratoire de l’agriculture …

www.rtbf.be