Market Vendor Highlight: Hydroponic Grower – Flora Ridge Farm
On Sunday, January 25, 2015, I pulled up to Flora Ridge Farms in Mount Airy, NC. Tony and Joy Bono, the owners of the farm, are originally from Pennsylvania, but they were every bit as welcoming and hospitable as any native Southerner I know. They asked how my drive was, if I got lost, and then offered to show me the farm.
Flora Ridge Farms is a little bit different from others I’ve seen, though, because the Bonos grow hydroponically, meaning in water instead of soil. Tony lead me over to the first greenhouse he built, which, to me, resembled a spaceship from a 1950s film, and began explaining the process and logistics to me.
The inside of the greenhouse didn’t look any less futuristic; it was full of plants growing out of something that looked like the gutters on my house. Tony explained that, using Nutrient Film Technique, he places a small tube at the aisle end of each of these gutters, and a nutrient-rich water flows out, just enough to produce a thin film of liquid to feed the plants. The seedlings grow in cubes called horticultural rock wool, and grow for about 50 days before they are ready to harvest for market.
Tony built his first hydroponic greenhouse in 2002, and added a second later on. The first greenhouse holds three varieties of lettuce, two varieties of romaine, some basil and arugula, and watercress in the summer. The second greenhouse holds mostly spinach with some baby kale as well. As we spoke, Tony told me that he’s looking at building a third greenhouse so that he can grow spinach and kale all year long.
Tony and Joy go to three different farmers markets, in Hickory, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro. The drive from the farm to the markets ranges from 45 minutes to almost an hour and a half, which seems like quite the commute to me, so I asked the Bonos why they do it, why they drive so far. Tony explained that markets, like the Curb Market in Greensboro, are their bread and butter; most of what they harvest gets sold directly to market shoppers, even though they do have some restaurant accounts. Joy piped in that people who don’t grow their own produce seem to like to help out and buy from local farmers, and that helps Flora Ridge Farms a lot. Also, since growing hydroponically means that they can put out lettuce year-round, unlike in-ground farmers, sometimes they’re the only ones at the market with their kind of products.
We stood outside the greenhouses and talked more about local people and local food for a bit, and watched their dogs, Winston and Bandit play with their red bone. Before I leave, Tony asked me to sign his guest book, and Joy sent me off with one of their famous combo heads, a market favorite in which the pair combines some of a couple of varieties of lettuce, usually whatever they have the most of. I barely got out of their driveway before breaking off a leaf to try for myself…crisp and fresh are the words that came to mind first. I sure am glad that Flora Ridge Farms is growing lettuce all year long!(Article contributed by Caitlin Marney, UNCG Communications Major/Market Intern)