Farming is typically an outdoor sport, but in Canada, that means we can only play for a few months out of the year – and man is imported fruit expensive. Luckily, for those who don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for strawberries in the wintertime, a few clever Calgarians with some green thumbs and an appreciation for dirt have launched NuLeaf – an indoor hydroponic facility with one ambitious goal: affordable, locally grown produce no matter what’s in the sky or on the ground.
In hopes of putting ripe and delicious veggies on the plates of families everywhere, the folks at NuLeaf have begun looking for a long-term solution to fighting increasing food costs.
This company, which is one of three commercial-scale warehouse operations, could soon make this a reality, and wouldn’t that be something!
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Now, because we know some of you, with your Aerogarden at home, don’t believe that this is all that innovative – but believe us when we say that it’s not as simple as it sounds. More importantly, until recently, it hasn’t been as cheap as it may sound.
While growing a raspberry out of season may seem easy – growing enough to stock your grocery store shelves at the same price as California-grown fruit in December – is not.
It takes less water, less power, more planning and some serious smarts to pull it off – which is why places like NuLeaf Farms are so impressive.
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“The NuLeaf indoor farming system takes a modularized approach to CEA. We segregate the controlled environments within a remotely-operated indoor farming network. This allows our distributed farming system to efficiently grow a wide range of high-yield crops at various locations,” they explain on their website.
Though they’ve still got a ways to go, the company has already nailed growing and maintaining lower costs for certain herbs in the cold and has big plans for more products in the future – so keep an eye out.
It’ll only be a matter of time until we can eat and cook with Alberta grown-veggies for far less no matter the time of year, or whether or not there’s a natural disaster somewhere warmer, making costs significantly higher, and wow we can’t wait.
For more information or to shop at NuLeaf, you can do so here. Have fun and happy eating, Calgary. A new era is on the horizon!
