Last week, I went to catch up with an old friend who graduated from Duke last spring. Dr. Spencer Ware, a major in Environmental Science, found his new job by researching urban gardens in the greater Raleigh/Durham area. He stumbled across a small but productive operation called Sweet Peas Urban Gardens. This haven, created by Tami Purdue, takes up an average size plot in the middle of a residential area that features a greenhouse, outdoor garden and a Crop Box. You may not recognize the term "Crop Box," as the concept is quite new. Sweet Peas is home to the fifth one ever created!
The idea of the Crop Box originated when a few people realized how many empty shipping containers there were laying around. These large metal boxes take up space without a purpose. The solution proposed by Crop Box was to make these spaces into small vertical urban farms. From the ideas conception in 2012, the first model took two years to perfect. As of now, a fully-functioning, fully green Crop Box would cost you about $75,000. Purdue pointed out that the high cost is due to the 50 LED lights that Sweet Peas purchased to grow each layer of produce. LED lights are four times the price of fluorescents, but in the long run save electricity costs that would be needed to ventilate the heat produced by cheaper fluorescents.
The entire container comfortably hosts four layers of a variety of soil-free growing plots. The Crop Box could also feature soil, but Sweet Peas uses a hydroponic system instead, because, why use an unnecessary resource? Their soil-free (hydroponic) growing system uses only decomposable materials which are later composted, and so little water that Sweet Peas water bill went up only four to six dollars per month once the Crop Box was up and running.
The early adaptors of this new system have so-far found that the way to make the fastest profits is through growing micro-greens. Micro-greens have a growing cycle of only 10-14 days. They are packed with flavor, nutrients(up to 40 time higher levels of vital nutrients than their mature counterparts) and are part of a growing market. This means produce can be churned out in a quick and efficient manner. The system is also made more cost-effective and sustainable by thriving without the need of any chemical fertilizer inputs. The more difficult part has been finding the market to sell to.
Sweet Peas made their mark by starting at the local farmers market in Raleigh. Until recently, micro-greens have gone underutilized and under cultivated in the kitchen. However, with a growing trend towards eating healthy and local, people have started to recognize micro greens as a perfect garnish with lots of different flavors. Sweet Peas alone harvests a large variety. When I visited, Purdue and Spencer showed me varieties of wheatgrass, radish, broccoli, kale, cilantro and much more than was all soon to be harvested. The whole operation was diverse, concise and beautifully efficient in producing delicious organic micro-greens.
While the whole operation requires a large investment to get started, Sweet Peas Urban Garden made its money back in just two years. This includes the time it took to get Sweet Peas recognized as a supplier to the area. After spending time at the farmers market, local chefs caught on to the Sweet Peas mission and fell in love. These gourmet, farm-to-table chefs are the backbone of the micro-green business, a small but budding market in the N.C. triangle.
While the Crop Box also takes work to maintain, Purdue has found a lot of free help, and new friends, through using the website WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms), which lists farms worldwide where people are welcome to live for free in exchange for farm work. In addition to this money-saving tactic, Sweet Peas makes local deliveries by bicycle. Both of these methods are not only good for business, but good for the health and spirit of those running the business.
Because of the success Sweet Peas has seen, Purdue is considering investing in a second Crop Box. There is a possible deal in the works with Whole Foods that could launch their operation to a much larger scale, and even without Whole Foods the demand has still been continuously growing.
While a growing desire for fresh local foods exists, many urban areas continue to lack initiative. When exceptional people such as Purdue of Sweet Peas decide to take action and start a project, people notice. No matter how small the operation, a new trend can be created through a growing appetite and awareness for local, organic food. Every individual with any size plot of land has the power to grow their own food, and Sweet Peas is a larger symbol of that. If this small shipping container can be turned into a profitable farming project in two years, we should all spend more time thinking about the future possibilities of urban and vertical farming. People from around the world have traveled to Raleigh to see Sweet Peas Urban Farm and it’s Crop Box initiative. If their little box can serve as a model for the rest of the world, then no effort is too small to help innovate new models to feed an ever-growing population.
Many Thanks To Dr. Spencer Ware and Tami Purdue for welcoming me on their farm and talking to me about the project!
Eliza Grace is a Trinity junior. Her column, "the green wave" runs on alternate Thursdays.
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