Green living: You can’t get fresher or more locavore than this!
Vancouver’s Living Produce Aisle is trying out a whole new level of fresh by growing their herbs and sprouts right in the fresh produce aisles. The recently opened Gastown store offers customers micro greens, herbs and sprouts which are taken straight from the hydroponic cultivators.
The concept is the brain-child of Tarren Wolf, owner and inventor extraordinaire. Wolf adapted indoor growing equipment to create the hydroponic cultivators. They look like a regular in-store refrigerators, but contain lights that allow the plants to grow and keep the temperature constant.
“We can grow between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds of produce a month in 20 cultivators. We can get four complete crops a month of most of the micro-greens and sprouts,” said Wolf. Wold isn’t keeping this great idea to himself! He has modified units that homeowners can install in their kitchens and hopes that other green grocers will utilize his smarts to franchise the Living Produce Aisle concept.
Check out the Urban Cultivator’s website for more information on in-home systems.
DO IT YOURSELF
Greenmoxie has taken on our own indoor green cultivation experiment.
Week one
Week four
Equipment
• 3 x 23W Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)
• 3 Recycled light hoods
• 2 window boxes
• Triple mix and soil
• Seeds
• Hooks
• String
Method
We simply wired the hoods together and popped in the light bulbs. We turned the hooks into the wall and hung the hoods with string so that we can adjust the height of the lights as the plants grow. The three lights cost approximately $3.00 a month to run for ten hours a day. The entire assembly cost $15.00. You can substitute foil for the light hoods if you can’t find recycled ones.
Upcycle any used light fitting that can take a 23Watt CFL. You can use this to grow sprouts and green right in your kitchen. This gives you a cheap supply of organic greens, improves indoor air quality and adds pizzazz to your decor for only $1 a month per light.