Starrtup, Local, Agriculture, Food, Eco
The future of Atlanta? Lettuce grown in hydroponic containers — in unassuming parking lots.
[A] conventional lettuce farm produces 9,600 to 12,000 heads a year per acre. That acre of land is constantly watered, fertilized and is subject to damage from Mother Nature and pests. One PodPonics container is guaranteed to yield 26,559 heads. No chemicals are used; the temperature is controlled and watering is not necessary. Even better, the entire urban farm’s footprint is about 8,000 square feet. The science is so exact that the buyer’s contract includes a guarantee of the volume and price for one year.
“We’re also debunking the myth that organic lettuce in the grocery store today is better than ours,” explained Liotta. “That bag of lettuce was constantly watered, washed three times and probably in chlorine. Think of all the water that was used. PodPonics lettuce is not washed because there is no need. We use no pesticides and we’re not affected by changes in the weather. We’re not breaking down the soil either. We don’t need soil.”
