Since spring 2026, lettuce is growing on a 2,760 m² rooftop farm above a REWE supermarket in Berlin-Lankwitz. REWE built the rooftop farm to grow fresh lettuce directly where it is sold. We supplied the furrow hydroponic floats and ebb & flow trays on which the lettuce is grown.
The rooftop farm is operated by ECF Farmsystems, a Berlin company specialised in food production in urban areas. At full capacity, the farm produces over 900,000 salad mixes a year. The lettuce is processed and packed in the store below and sold on site or distributed to up to 700 REWE stores in the Berlin region. It is the second REWE Green Farming location in Germany, after the pilot store in Wiesbaden that opened in 2021.
Furrow floats with inlays
The lettuce is grown in a fully automated hydroponic system on growing tables. The plants are sown directly in Meteor Systems furrow hydroponic floating rafts. The growing tables are equipped with our hydroponic ebb & flow trays, which create an ideal root zone environment with minimal use of water.
Because the water stays in a closed system, the farm can run on collected rainwater. Heat for the greenhouse and the store comes entirely from heat pumps, with waste heat from the building recovered for the crop.
Light, clean and reliable
Growing on a roof sets its own conditions. The system has to be light, easy to keep clean and reliable enough for daily harvesting all year round, above a supermarket that stays open. Floats and inlays with a smooth surface and no loose parts fit that requirement: they are quick to clean between rounds and hold up to continuous use in an automated line.
Let’s start your project!
If you are interested in starting your hydroponic growing project, get in touch with our water culture expert Bas Dirven.
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