Shipping container in downtown Cornwall grows greens all year
Plants inside get no natural sunlight, are grown with hydroponic lights instead
CBC Ottawa took a tour of a freight farm housed inside a shipping container in Cornwall, Ont., which yields produce all year long with hydroponic lighting.
"We envision hundreds of these in Canada. There's no reason why we couldn't have 10 of them stacked together here in Cornwall, or in Ottawa, or in larger markets," said Eric Bergeron, one of the co-founders of Smart Greens.
The freight farm holds about 3,600 plants in about 300 square metres of space.
The plants are held in vertical aluminum towers filled with synthetic rock wool instead of soil. An automated system delivers water and nutrients, and pools unused water to be put back into the system.
The farm produces 200 to 300 packages of kale, spinach and basil each week, and the company sells them to restaurants in the area.
"So it's not local, it's hyperlocal. It's, literally, right out of the door," Bergeron said.
To take an audio tour of the farm, click the Soundcloud player below.
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