In a 12,500-square-foot former granite warehouse in Barre - free of sunlight, rain and insects - with cement floors, artificial lighting, and a sensor-controlled climate, you'll find trays upon trays of beautiful greens. The vegetation found in this space includes various styles of lettuce and basil, and is part of a wave of a new style of farming.
This great, green indoor grow-center is called Ceres Greens and operated by Greg Kelly and Jake Isham. The two men come from very different backgrounds but share the common interest of vertical farming (growing food by stacking it vertically in a climate-controlled, indoor environment while using less space than a traditional farm).
In this episode, Seven Days food writer Melissa Pasanen chats about how Kelly's and Isham's different perspectives on this form of farming brought them together, the advantages of what Kelly calls "a perfect growing environment," and a recent award they recieved at Accel-VT Ag & Food Tech 2018.
Go under the grow lights and read more about Ceres Greens in Pasanen's piece, "In Barre, Farm Greens Grow In A Former Granite Shed."
