Omaha's first commercial, enclosed hydroponic garden — inside downtown warehouse — is feeding Omaha

[Omaha Steve]

REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD
Ian Peterson attaches strings to pepper plants to keep them growing upright. Peterson, along with his wife and parents, started Peterson Greens this year after experimenting first in their basements. Ian Peterson has a degree in plant biology from Iowa State University and brought the idea for the business home with him when he graduated.


http://www.omaha.com/money/omaha-s-first-commercial-enclosed-hydroponic-garden-inside-downtown-warehouse/article_7969c39a-67b0-5de5-89e9-9cbbd14cc9e6.html

POSTED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015 1:30 AM
By Paige Yowell / World-Herald staff writer

What started as a basement experiment is growing — literally — into something more in a downtown Omaha warehouse.

Inside the nondescript building at Seventh and Pacific Streets is a garden that is absent of soil and sunshine. Instead, vegetables sprout in small cubes of mineral wool placed in trays of water, with water-soluble fertilizer helping them grow. Sprouting in the facility are mostly greens, such as Swiss chard, butter lettuce and kale. There also are herbs and several rows of peppers.

Water for the plants flows continuously through tubes into the trays and is recycled. Different kinds of lights, depending on the plants’ needs, hang from the ceiling, taking the sun’s place.

“This is an out-of-control hobby,” said Kristen Peterson, a co-founder of Omaha’s first commercial, enclosed hydroponic garden, Peterson Greens. “The Petersons are big dreamers.”

FULL story at link. Video:http://studio.omaha.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91341&ndn.siteSection=omahalanding&ndn.videoId=29197242&freewheel=91341&sitesection=omahalanding&vid=29197242



REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD

T5 fluorescent lights shine over the lettuce and herbs at Peterson Greens, a hydroponic indoor vegetable growing operation in downtown Omaha.

[KamaAina]

1. Peiople eat vegetables in Omaha?

Do you export all the steaks?

[Taitertots]

2. Burning fossil fuels to grow plants?

Sounds like a terrible idea.

[Omaha Steve]

6. They are on a shoestring budget

From the link.

The business has not yet recovered its startup costs, Tom Peterson said, and the facility will be “a long-term investment.” Outfitting the leased space, including adding some bathrooms to meet code, cost tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

[jeff47]

15. Yeah, if only there were ways to generate electricity without fossil fuels.... (nt)

[d_r]

3. wouldnt it be more energy efficient

to use sunlight?

[MineralMan]

7. Much more efficient.

However, there's not much sunlight in a warehouse area. To grow year round, using sunlight, you have to build for it. In Omaha, you also have winter cold and severe weather to deal with. Building new facilities costs a great deal, lengthening the payback time dramatically. Big investment for an experimental idea.

[d_r]

21. Instead of paying ,1000s$

For lights etc. Find an old building with bad roof, take it off and put up green house. Or an old basement and cover it with green house and have benefit of ground temperature. I was thinking about it and this isn't really innovation at all, this is about selling basil to trendy hipster restaurants.

[jeff47]

17. Not when you gain the benefit of climate control.

Heating the place in the winter means you get another crop.

[marym625]

4. Cool stuff!

[MineralMan]

5. Interesting experiment. Setups like this exist in many places.

We have several here in Minnesota. The most successful grows tomatoes year round. They are sold in our local supermarkets, and are picked ripe and in the stores the next day. I buy them, because they taste better. However, they are at least twice the price of other tomatoes in the store. They're very good, though.

On the other hand, I use a lot of roma tomatoes. Those are good wherever they come from. They're an old-style tomato and taste like tomatoes whatever their source.

This type of growing environment is good for greens and a few other food plant types, but mostly salad plants. Good to eat, but not anything like a complete diet. I noticed that there was nothing about price in the article at the link.

[Omaha Steve]

8. Marta and I will look into the price Saturday

That is Omaha's farmers market day. They are located just a few blocks away, even if they don't participate.

[MineralMan]

9. Looks like they're just selling to restaurants.

Have you been to any of the restaurants that were mentioned? How was the salad?

[Omaha Steve]

10. We have not been to any of the listed places

But with them putting in restrooms and getting press I figure somebody will be there to answer questions during day hours. I hope.

[MineralMan]

11. Let us know what you find.

[xfundy]

12. How are the tomatoes pollinated?

Do they let bees in & out, or accomplish it by hand pollination?

[MineralMan]

13. You know, I have no idea. That's a good question.

I'll see if I can find out.

[MineralMan]

14. They use bees in the greenhouses.

Bumblebees, specifically. Here's the page on how they grow them:

http://www.bushelboy.com/our-tomatoes/our-varieties/

Here's another page that has more info:

http://www.bushelboy.com/our-tomatoes/thoughtfully-grown/

The company is called Bushel Boy.

[xfundy]

19. Thanks!

`

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. great story

[Vinca]

18. I love the idea of hydroponic gardening . . . no weeds!

[underahedgerow]

20. THIS is the idea I came up with about 4 years ago for all the abandoned factories in Detroit.

What a way to re-invent that city, that would be.

Anyone got a spare billion laying around? Excellent investment! Jobs for everyone!

[onethatcares]

22. it's a look into the future of food production.

and I think it's forward thinking to the nth degree. we are running out of land for crops and what crops we are producing are being GMOd, and monsantoed out.

I read that in France, they use the old subways for hydroponic production. 80 ft down with solar collectors on the streets above to provide electricity to the pumps and lights. That's 80 gauddammm feet down and we, the greatest most inovative country in the world, can't do the same cause it costs too fucking much. Something is seriously wrong here.

I experimentally tried aquaponics with goldfish and lettuce last year. I made my own bell syphons and running gear and within three weeks I had edible lettuce. I had small strawberries, I had small peppers, I had a gas messing with things I never touched before. Will I do it again. YOU bet your ass, but right now I'm growing in soil

Look around your town at the factory buildings that are sitting idle and picture them with skylites and pumps growing your corn, greens, maters, eggplant, peppers, beans and all the other things that go into staying alive. It's a workable idea for sure.

I salute Ira Peterson, he's on the edge of something huge.