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Scientists Harvest First Vegetables in Antarctic Greenhouse (apnews.com)
Scientists in Antarctica have harvested their first crop of vegetables grown without earth, daylight or pesticides as part of a project designed to help astronauts cultivate fresh food on other planets. From a report: Researchers at Germany's Neumayer Station III say they've picked 3.6 kilograms (8 pounds) of salad greens, 18 cucumbers and 70 radishes grown inside a high-tech greenhouse as temperatures outside dropped below -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit). The German Aerospace Center DLR, which coordinates the project, said Thursday that by May scientists hope to harvest 4-5 kilograms of fruit and vegetables a week.
Since the linked-to AP article is mostly just a picture, with nothing on the tech., here you go:
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-...
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/deskt...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Pretty cool, but maybe not space & cost effective on a spaceship.
The term "pesticides" also includes herbicides and fungicides.
If your life depends on successfully growing a monoculture over several years in a sealed tin can, you might need to at least consider having some fungicides on hand. Not to mention, some mites are almost microscopic. Without any natural predators, one pair slipping through might also ruin your day.
Calories are usually not the issue overall, as high-caloric foods tend to be easy to transport and store. The issue is more nutrient-rich foods and the bulk items needed for healthy digestion.