#brightfarms

A Year of Expansion, Sustainability, and Technological Advancements The greenhouse sector in 2024 witnessed remarkable growth and innovation, with key players expanding operations, adopting cutting-edge technology, and addressing pressing issues like food security and climate change. Companies such as Gotham Greens, BrightFarms, and Van der Hoeven are at the forefront, showcasing how controlled…

Key Takeaways BrightFarms issues a voluntary recall of spinach and four salad kit products. The spinach, sourced from Element Farms in New Jersey, may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Potential cross-contamination leads to the recall of select salad kits from the Selinsgrove, PA facility. Affected products are distributed across seven states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New…

Product Corner: @BrightFarms Baby Greens - grown in a greenshouse farm in Selingsgrove, PA. Plus click for a recipe! #salad #saladkits #greenhousefarms

Salads and fresh ingredients are often associated with summer but can stay with the first cool breeze of the year. Greenhouse farms use the latest technology to control the climate indoors 365 days/year, making it possible to find fresh, local, and nutritious leafy greens year-round.  From a variety of packaged greens to their premium salad kits, BrightFarms aims to provide the freshest,…

Spinach, its one of the world’s most nutrient-packed vegetables in the world but is often grown far away from where its consumed. Even in greenhouses this crop can be challenging to grow year round as its roots are more temperamental than its counterparts. Learn how BrightFarms is taking on this challenge by growing thousands of pounds of spinach near the supermarkets that sell it to you. 

Is it Possible to Grow Spinach Locally and Year-Round?

A BrightFarms greenhouse in Pennsylvania produces around 34,000 kilograms (75,000 pounds) of nutrient-rich spinach per year—even in the thick of winter—while also conserving land, water, and fossil fuels. In this episode of How Does it Grow, viewers get a glimpse of the greenhouse where, through hydroponics, BrightFarms creates an environment conducive to growing spinach year-round.

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that WDC Greenhouse, LLC (dba BrightFarms) will locate its newest greenhouse production facility in Culpeper County.  The company will invest $7.35 million to construct and operate two new greenhouses and create 24 new jobs.  In addition, BrightFarms will produce 750,000 cases of Virginia-grown green leaf produce and 30,000 cases of Virginia-grown…

If buying your local produce from the farmer's market isn't as local as you like, try the The Mini-Farmery, an urban grocery store where customers can pick their own produce.

It’s three in the afternoon and it is hot here in New York City (98˚!) Let’s give a run-down of temperatures for some of our BrightFarms’ cities: 

St. Paul, Minnesota-- 83˚

St. Louis, Missouri-- 94˚

Washington, DC – 92.9˚

These temperatures are going to climb further by the end of the day. Talk about summer heat!

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania (where our current greenhouse operates) it is 95.2˚!

Ever question on days like today how we regulate the temperature of our greenhouses?

Our greenhouse computer system monitors the temperature within our lettuce & tomato houses. Vents open on the north and south sidewalls allowing air to filter in when the temperature rises above the optimal plant growing temperature. Our rooftop also opens skyward allowing heat to exit (much like a chimney). This sidewall & rooftop ventilation system is what we consider passive ventilation. 

We also have fans situated in the middle of the lettuce greenhouse that create horizontal airflow when necessary. The fans face both north and south in order to circulate air within the house to maintain even temperature and to provide a draft.

We’ve begun to install an evaporative cooling pad in this greenhouse & will be installing them in our future greenhouses. 

Evaporative cooling is the result of water droplets in the air (which absorb heat) evaporating and thus removing heat from the surrounding area. Evaporative cooling pads use water to absorb the greenhouse’s heat, & with the help of our fan system, it leads to cooler air circulating through the greenhouse! This system is an energy-efficient way to reduce the indoor temperature.

below: our greenhouse with the sidewalls open allowing air to circulate.

below: our rooftop opening in coordination with the above photo to allow rising indoor heat out of the greenhouse (notice the fans as well!)

Growing year-round local produce in all weather conditions is tough work & we're up for the growers' challenge!