It’s still a little early to start planting outside, but what if you could have an entire farm indoors? Area 2 Farms in Arlington is not what you imagine when you think of a farm. It's vertical, indoors, and has bizarre plants that taste like roasted garlic, cheese, or oysters. Plus, they’re fighting climate change with all kinds of sustainable techniques.
When You Can’t Spread Out, Go Up
Area 2 Farms is located in a small warehouse and grows crops on top of one another. In a setup reminiscent of a giant revolving sushi bar, eight levels of robotic conveyor belts shuffle plants around under different types of light to replicate a plant's natural day cycle. “It may seem a bit futuristic, but we're trying to work with the natural processes, work with what the plant would want,” says founder Tyler Baras.
The Bigger Picture
Growing indoors means the farm can avoidchemicals or pesticides that can harm the environment. Additionally, the produce travels less than four miles on average from the farm to the consumer, meaning fewer emissions (plus better-tasting produce 😋).
Mescalin growing under sunlamps at Area 2 Farms. (Priyanka Tilve/City Cast DC)
Life of an Indoor Farmer
Just because the farm is robotic doesn’t mean it’s not any work. Farmers are still needed to plant seeds, transplant, and harvest veggies. But the shelves make the work much more ergonomic and easier on the body.
What’s On Tap?
This week, Area 2 Farms is harvesting arugula, microgreens, radishes, herbs, and purple shamrock. But throughout spring, they’ll have everything from kale and broccoli to turnips, tomatoes, and even edible flowers. There are still a few spots left in their spring CSA that starts on March 18 if you want to try them for yourself!
P.S. We were able to tour the farm (and you can, too!) and try some of their crazy-tasting veggies for our podcast. You can listen to the whole thing here!
