This 40-foot freight container on a back corner of James Sprunt’s West Park Campus in Warsaw is fairly unassuming, aside from an eye-catching paint job declaring “Box to Bowl: Fresh greens growing inside.” On the inside, however, it’s a futuristic, hyper-efficient hydroponic farm, growing the equivalent of two acres of crops in half the time.
Four County EMC and James Sprunt, along with support from North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Duplin County and the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund, partnered on the container farm to offer students a hands-on introduction to agricultural and crop management. Here’s what’s going on inside this “big box” over a period of 6–7 weeks (and you can learn even more here):
1. Nursery
2–3 weeksAfter placing seeds into ‘grow plugs,’ the seedlings will be moved into the nursery area where they will germinate & start their lives! Here they will be provided with nutrient rich water and special LED lights for 2–3 weeks.
There is enough room to grow up to 4,600 seedlings in the nursery area!
What’s in the grow plug?
- Coconut husk and peat moss
- It holds its shape better than traditional soil.
Freight Farms
2. Growing
3–4 weeks The sturdy seedlings will be transplanted into the cultivation area — this is where they will grow to their full maturity.
The mature seedlings will be placed in plant panels among 4 different grow walls & spaced according to by crop variety/size into 5 grow channels.
How much will it grow?
- There is enough room to grow close to 8,000 crops in the cultivation area!
Freight Farms
3. Harvest
1 day After the crops grow in the cultivation area for 3–4 weeks , it’s time to harvest.
Produce will then be packaged and distributed throughout the school & community!
Freight Farms
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