Farming in the mountains of Montana can be unpredictable. After losing the crops to late frost, early snowstorms, droughts, heatwaves, and the constant wind gusts that are common to the high altitude regions of southwest Montana, we decided to move the farm indoors. The Farm's goal is to produce year round, GMO free vegetables to the rural populations that surround us while remaining sustainable and earth friendly.
The Farm is focusing on growing rare heirloom varieties of tomatoes and peppers under artificial light. They are sprouted using a small 17watt flouresent light and rockwool cubes as a growing medium. The sterile rockwool cubes ensure that no bugs or disease are brought into the grow room. Here is a fresh Thai chili that just popped up...or two.
The sprouts form roots rapidly, and the need to be transplanted with in a day or two to prevent the roots from getting damaged or turning green from being exposed to light. Coco Fiber is an excellent growing medium that is also sustainable. Instead of tearing through peat bogs that are habitat for numerous species and took thousands of years to form, the husk of coconuts is ground and compressed into a block. Like the rockwool, the coco comes sterile. After adding water the block expands into 16 gallons of medium. Adding organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion or liquid seaweed, gives the block plenty of nutrients for the seedlings to flourish until their first feeding. Using the expanded coco the sprouts are transplanted into a 16 oz red cup to form a strong base of roots. The transplanted sprouts are put under a 48in flouresent shop light about 4 inches above the top of the plant.
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