| Farm
Grows Hydroponic Lettuce |
By Katie Murphy
Observer Staff Writer |
| Endless Summer Harvest yields about 1,200 heads of lettuce
grown hydroponically, or without soil, each week. The Purcellville-based
farm, now in its third year of commercial production, was
awarded Loudoun County Product of the year by the Loudoun
Chamber of Commerce at Lansdowne Nov. 13. |
| Mary Ellen Taylor, managing partner for Endless Summer Harvest,
said the award was such an honor because, out of everything
produced in the county, the chamber chose a product from Loudoun's
agricultural roots. |
| "And they picked lettuce of all things," Taylor said with
a laugh. However this is not regular lettuce. |
| Endless Summer was just awarded $68,000 grant from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Taylor said they will use the money
to help launch their newest project, calcium and potassium
enriched lettuce, which will be available in April 2007 at
Wegmans in Dulles. |
| Dulles-based Eden Space Technologies, working with Texas
A&M University, figured out how to put the recommended daily
amount of calcium and potassium into lettuce. Taylor said
prior to their discovery, it was not believed possible because
of the constraints of soil farming. But she said hydroponics
provides a controlled environment that allows calcium and
potassium enriched lettuce. |
| She said the enriched lettuce would be great for people
who have osteoporosis, are lactose intolerant or just enjoy
salad. |
| "This is the first time lettuce has been altered to benefit
the consumer," Taylor said. "It has been altered for pesticides
or plant-disease resistance, but never really for the consumer."
|
| Challenges have also come with the new product, and Endless
Summer spent the summer creating a patented, state-of-the-art
greenhouse that will innovate the growing of lettuce. This
new facility creates a wave-pattern of airflow and has a lower
cost of heat, the ability to be opened on all sides, and a
computer-generated shade that runs the length of the greenhouse
to regulate the sunlight intake of the lettuce. Taylor said
these are modifications that are added on top of the technology
found in their current greenhouse, which has an Argus system
to regulate the greenhouse atmosphere. She said the Argus
system controls the temperature of the air and the water,
the flow of the water, the amount of nutrients in the water,
the humidity in the greenhouse and the lights. |
| "The computer is constantly recalculating all of these things,"
Taylor said. "This is a high tech, controlled agriculture
environment, which used to simply be called a greenhouse."
|
| Taylor said they would also use part of the grant to determine
their franchise capabilities. She said she believes any area
with a thriving farmer's market would be a successful environment
for another Endless Summer. |
| Throughout the year, Endless Summer offers products such
as basil, arugula, watercress, mustard, mizuna, tat soi, romaine,
red oak, green oak, and butterhead lettuces and greens. According
to Taylor, the growing process begins when Kirk Noll, Endless
Summer's senior grower, hand-seeds with a high tech Vibra
seeder, a turkey baster or by hand. Noll places one seed in
a sponge-like cube, known as an Oasis root cube. The plant
lives its entire life in the cube, and it often is sold while
still in the cube. This cube is similar to the green material
that in the past was used by florists to hold bouquets. Taylor
said it is like a sponge that will hold water for the baby
seed. The roots grow beneath the cube, and the plant grows
on top. |
| The plants then stay under an incubator with grow lights
and airflow for four to five days. Once they germinate, the
cubes are separated and positioned in their own circle within
a gutter-like structure. From that point on, the Argus computer
controls the plants' living environment. |
| The computer pulls the water out of the well, mixes it with
the nutrients and creates a steady flow of water that runs
underneath the plants in the gutter, which runs slightly downhill.
Taylor said the plants would rot if they have too much water,
and the water source should be far from the plant so the roots
stretch to reach the water. |
| The water is then caught at the end of the gutter where
90 percent of the water is recycled. She said the remaining
10 percent is either used or evaporated. |
| "A field farmer needs 90 percent more water to grow the
same amount of crops," Taylor said. |
| Endless Summer does not use pesticides. Because they grow
their products in a controlled environment and they have an
experienced grower, they do not need pesticides, Taylor said.
Although they occasionally become plagued with aphids, Noll
simply washes them off before taking them to market. |
| The table that houses the lettuce is also ergonomically
designed, Taylor said, creating a farming environment where
no one has to stoop or bend because they are at a comfortable
height for picking. |
| Endless Summer produce can be found at Wegmans in Dulles,
several gourmet restaurants, 12 summer and five winter farmers
markets, including Arlington, Falls Church and Leesburg. |
| "The produce manager for Dulles said the butterhead lettuce
sells very well," said Jo Natale, director of media relations
for Wegmans. "They've been selling it for a while now, and
it has a loyal following." |
| Taylor said Endless Summer's Joyous Noel lettuce blend,
featuring red and green Romaine leaves, also would be offered
at Wegmans in mid-December. |
| "A Christmas head of lettuce we've made by blending the
red and green head of lettuce, isn't that fun," Taylor said.
|
