In a shipping container surrounded by snow, Wendy Wyatt is growing lettuce, arugula, kale and other greens.
Suspended from the ceiling in hollow fiberglass fencing, her 4,000 plants are kept in a near perfect environment that accelerates their growth and allows them to thrive year-round, Wyatt said.
The plants only consume 40 to 50 gallons of water a week, and red and blue LED lights hang next to them to promote photosynthesis, she said.
In the tightly controlled hydroponic system, plants mature in five weeks – about half the time it takes in the field, she said.
Since the container was delivered in November, Wyatt’s business, Peak Season Farms, has started supplying about five restaurants in town, including Zia Taqueria, she said.
To boost its supply of locally grown greens, Zia Taqueria recently bought a second container that Wyatt will manage for the fast-casual Mexican restaurant, Zia owner Tim Turner said.
“We felt it was a great opportunity to support more locally raised food,” he said.
Zia must buy some of its greens from Arizona, California, New Mexico and Mexico.
But Turner’s goal is to buy it all locally from Peak Season Farms and Twin Buttes Farm, he said.
“Part of our mantra is to tread lightly and treat the Earth kindly,” he said.
Buying food locally cuts down on the carbon produced during shipping and supports local jobs, he said.
It also allows the restaurant to serve a much fresher product, he said.
Wyatt learned about Freight Farms, the company that makes the container farms, at a venture capital conference but didn’t consider it a career option at the time.
She was a financial adviser in Phoenix for 25 years before selling her business and moving northwest of Kline.
But after moving to La Plata County and talking with a restaurant owner, she was inspired.
“He was complaining about the quality of produce, and that’s when the light bulb went off,” she said.
She had never gardened before, but now she is raising all her produce with the help of the container’s technology and a single employee, who carries the title head of lettuce, she said with a laugh. She calls herself the chief greenskeeper.
From her phone, she can check on the conditions in the container and control the lights, carbon dioxide and humidity. Sensors also monitor the water quality and nutrients and make automatic adjustments.
But it’s far from fully automated; thousands of seedlings must still be planted with tweezers. Harvesting is also done by hand.
Plans for the farm’s expansion are not set, but Wyatt has room for six containers on her property on the ground. They can also be stacked, which would allow her to expand further.
She plans to work with Farm to School programs so students can learn about the hydroponics system and how technology, agriculture and sustainability can work together.
For the summer, she is planning to produce some specialty greens that can’t be grown locally such as skyphos, muir and truchas lettuce for restaurants.
It’s possible to grow other types of crops in the containers as well such as flowers, cherry tomatoes and radishes, she said.
But the containers were designed for lettuce and herbs, according to the company’s website.
Other crops grow more slowly, and Wyatt plans to just grow greens.
Part of the appeal of local produce is the extended shelf-life of the product by several weeks, she said.
“That’s always been one of my pet peeves: You go to the grocery store and buy something and in two days you are throwing it out,” she said.
Freight Farms, the Boston-based maker of the Leafy Green Machines, was founded in 2010. The containers sell for $85,000 each. According to the company’s website, 100 container farms are operating worldwide.
