Farming goes vertical at Green Sky Farm

Farming goes vertical at Green Sky Farm

In a small room near the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, Ron Brewster and Yosef Bender are taking steps to protect your dinner plate from natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

In a warehouse with no windows, the two men have begun to transform a barren space into a lush garden with nutrient-rich leafy greens that have names like Magenta Spreen, Deer’s Tongue, Ovation and Mesclun.

Their secret to growing enough produce that would generally need a half-acre of land using traditional farming techniques in just a 300-square-foot box is simple.

The two men are growing all of their produce vertically on specially constructed walls.

Tricking nature to grow more produce is nothing new — ancient Egyptians diverted rivers to irrigate crops while sewage was used as fertilizer by the ancient Greeks.

But in a new era when consumers ask about the carbon footprint of their corn and are willing to pay more for fresh-off-the-farm organic produce, their fledgling Green Sky Farm has the potential to turn empty warehouses and strip malls into neighborhood gardens.

The pair has spent roughly $60,000 to retrofit the warehouse and buy the necessary equipment.

Currently still in the research phase, Brewster believes the business will break even when it can produce 80 pounds of vegetables and fruits per square foot annually.

Electricity is a major expense when compared to traditional farms, although the pair are trying to move away from the traditional lights and use energy-efficient lighting.

Long-term plans call for the use of solar panels, wind turbines or biodiesel generators in some remote location to further reduce their energy costs.