Monday, January 30, 2023

No products in the cart.

  • About
    • Contributors
    • Disclaimers
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Giving back
    • Mission Statement
    • Past Issues
    • Where to Find
    • Call us at 613-935-3763
  • Advertise With Us!
 
 
  • Home
  • News
  • Leisure & Lifestyle
  • Columns
  • LTE
  • Events
  • Contributors
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Smart Greens Brings Fresh Produce Year Round

SeekersAdmin by SeekersAdmin
September 16, 2014
in News and Announcements
Reading Time: 2 mins read
6 1
1
SHARES
21
VIEWS

Smart GreensCornwall Ontario – When it comes to fresh food sometimes you have to think inside the box.

Two Cornwall entrepreneurs are doing just that by using an upcycled sea container to grow food – right in their neighbourhood.

You might also like

Five Questions with musician Virginia Dipierro

Five Questions with Juliette Labossière – United Way Executive Director

Second Annual Park Jam needs your help

Eric Bergeron and Eric Amyot have launched Smart Greens, a company that grows fresh greens in a hydroponic farm built within a shipping container. The inaugural farm is located in the heart of downtown Cornwall – within walking distance to several restaurants and grocery stores.

It is the first of its kind in Canada.

“You can taste the difference between produce that has just been harvested and produce that has sat on a truck for two weeks,” said Smart Greens co-founder Eric Amyot. “Our produce will be sold the same day the plants are harvested. Added advantages being that we help reduce shipping costs, fuel consumption and are increasing food safety in our region.”

The Smart Greens farm can produce over 1200 plants a week. Allison St Louis, the primary farmer at the location, is currently growing kale, basil and spinach, and plans are to introduce other crop varieties in the future. Local chefs are anxious to get their hands on fresh produce and specialty grocery stores are already placing orders for consumer packages.

Each farm container system is fully automated with an iPad interface to monitor humidity, temperature and nutrient levels. The container is insulated and the growing process is controlled, in that the climate inside the container is ideal for year-round production, regardless of the exterior environment. Mr. Amyot and Mr. Bergeron have plans to grow the network of Smart Green farms across the country.

“We believe there is huge potential for this system in just about every community,” said Eric Bergeron. “Large cities such as Ottawa and Vancouver could support dozens of farms while at the same time the model makes a lot of sense for Northern communities where the cost of fresh produce is staggeringly high.”

“Imagine having locally grown kale in your salad in Whitehorse in January!”

The first crop of kale from the Cornwall Smart Greens farm is just about ready to harvest.

“Each farm is capable of producing 54,400 pesticide-free plants a year with minimal electricity and water usage.” says Mr. Bergeron. “We think bringing sustainable healthy food systems to urban neighbourhoods is very exciting. The technology allows anyone to become a farmer, no matter their background.”

 

tomdunne

Author

  • SeekersAdmin
    SeekersAdmin

    View all posts

Next Post

Cornwall Curling Centre Open House begins September 17th

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube TikTok
Don't miss anything!

Get notified of all our new news by ringing the bell at the bottom left corner!

Content Safety

HERO

theseeker.ca

Trustworthy

Approved by Sur.ly

2022
The Seeker Newspaper is located at 327 Second Street E., Cornwall, ON K6H 1Y8 -- All rights reserved
The Seeker does not accept responsibility for errors, misprints or inaccuracies published within. The opinions and statements of our columnists are not to be presumed as the statements and opinions of The Seeker, and should not substitute professional or medical advice.
ISSN 2562-1750 (Print)

ISSN 2562-1769 (Online)
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Leisure & Lifestyle
  • Columns
  • LTE
  • Events
  • Contributors

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.