Why We Grow Moss
A typical moss garden in Japan.
Green Roofs are Amazing.
They cool down our cities, soak up rainwater, and boost biodiversity. Cities like Toronto are mandating them on all new developments.
The problem with green roofs today is that they’re:
Expensive: Green roofs in North-America start in the tens of thousands of dollars and usually require building upgrades.
Slow: Expect a drawn out design, build, grow process with sedum mats that take months or years to fully establish (if ever)
Heavy: Sedum mat systems range can weight over 30lbs / SQFT when wet, some intensive systems weigh over 150 pounds.
We decided what the North-American market really needed was an ultralight modular system that ships like furniture.
Not another premium landscaping service.
The Japanese Figured this Out Decades Ago
Japanese people also LOVE moss. They mention it in their national anthem. Most gardens in Japan are made of it. It’s deeply cultural and has a fascinating thousand year history.
It’s not a surprise that the country figured out an ingenious method of cultivating moss trays off-site, dropping fully grown trays into place, and encasing it with lightweight aluminum.
Systems like this are fully modular and have already been installed across millions of square feet. They’re lauded for being repeatable and requiring basically zero maintenance as well as ultralight - under 5 lb / square foot wet.
The problem? This all depends on a national network of master growers. People that have thousands of years of knowledge on how to care for moss in that specific region.
How Beer Waste fixed our Supply Issue
North-American moss vendors are few and far between. For something that grows on sidewalks and covers an area the size of Canada, we were shocked at high prices and the lack of availability.
A moss slurry is an agricultural method that involves blending moss with the yeast and sugars found in beer. Once blended, the moss is spread as a paste and grows naturally, usually over a year or more.
Two of our founders came from the precision agriculture world. We thought, what if we could optimize the growing conditions for moss green roofs the same way we used to do for lettuce?
That question led to Verdant Forge. A green-roof factory that turns trays of moss slurry into climate infrastructure in weeks.
What is BioGrid?
BioGrid is an easy to install system that ships like furniture and scales forever.
Pricing starts at just $1,000 for a 16 panel system covering 45 SQFT.
Sophisticated monitoring and impact reporting for just $1 / SQFT / Year.
Ultralight - works on any roof, even older ones.
Are you a developer, asset manager, or property manager looking for an affordable ESG investment with receipts?
Email luke@verdantmetrics.com to learn about our 2026 pilot program
