{"id":37934,"date":"2024-12-16T15:11:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=37934"},"modified":"2024-12-16T15:11:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:11:05","slug":"foothills-farm-is-scaling-the-production-of-hydroponic-greens-for-new-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/12\/foothills-farm-is-scaling-the-production-of-hydroponic-greens-for-new-markets\/","title":{"rendered":"Foothills Farm Is Scaling The Production Of Hydroponic Greens For New Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Max Poritzky inspects hydroponic greens, grown using innovative technology in a sustainable environment. The farm provides fresh, locally grown produce to local restaurants and institutions
Courtesy Foothills Farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Looking back on their first full year of production, entrepreneurs Max and Nikki Poritzky have counted one ton of produce grown and distributed to restaurants and schools from their hydroponic farming facility, Foothills Farm, in Greenfield Center.<\/p>\n

The farm is a 40-by-eight-foot container housing an efficient, vertical growing system that produces high quality lettuces and herbs using a fraction of the space of traditional farming.<\/p>\n

The couple have backgrounds and careers in the field of nutrition and come from health conscious families, they said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She studied nutritional biochemistry at UC Davis and was a commercial executive marketing dietary supplements, an industry in which Max also had an executive career spanning 25 years. He said his mother founded Wild Oats, the first health food store in Saratoga Springs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Let food be thy medicine\u2019 might sound clich\u00e9d, but this is how our families live,\u201d Max said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>The couple met in and resided in California and later while in Boston, their careers and life took a new trajectory. About six years ago Max was visiting a technology museum in San Jos\u00e9 and was exposed to hydroponic farming at a kiosk display.<\/p>\n

\u201cHydroponic farming lets you grow nutrition-rich food year-round in any environment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were interested in the concept but didn\u2019t know how or if to get into the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

One company building these kinds of units was located in Boston and Max began to research the technology, he said. Then two years ago the couple purchased property in Greenfield and returned to the area where he grew up to start a farm business and raise two children.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaratoga County has 100,000 acres of farmland and nobody was doing hydroponic farming, horizontally or vertically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The container offers 3,000 linear feet of growing space, according to Nikki. There\u2019s no soil to till and no pesticides needed in a contained environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Heat, cooling, and hydration are controlled with software. A large portion of the power comes from solar installations and weekly CO2 gas deliveries supplement what the plants take from the air, Max said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a wonderful environment for a human to be in,\u201d said Nikki.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology is so efficient that we are at 70 percent capacity using only five gallons of water a day,\u201d Nikki said. \u201cOur well water has high quality mineral content and we add solubilized nutrients depending on what we are growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max said the system reclaiming some moisture from the air, condensing it, and returning it to the tank helps keeps water usage low.<\/p>\n

The Poritzkys said while local greenhouses supply baby greens, Foothills Farm grows crops to maturity. The owners have built an ardent customer base and local restaurants such as Hamlet & Ghost in Saratoga, Next Door Kitchen and Bar in Ballston Spa, and [farmacy] restobar in Glens Falls take weekly deliveries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also regular deliveries to institutions such as Skidmore and customers may order additional produce for special occasions. The farm is willing to plant what is needed in time for the event, Nikki said. The average growing time is six to seven weeks from seed to harvest.<\/p>\n

In wintertime, lettuce is only grown in the warmer climates of California or Mexico, plucked early to survive crating and travel, and to ripen at the store. Nikki said by the time it reaches the northeast, much of the nutrition and flavor have dissipated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChefs receive a full grown, living plant within hours from our farm,\u201d she said. \u201cSo hydroponics is not only about achieving quality nutrition, but preserving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flavor is an indicator of nutrition, and Nikki said \u201cChefs will tell you our greens are among the best they have ever tasted. It\u2019s because the nutrients used are crop specific.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hydroponic farms may not face droughts, rainy seasons, blight or bugs, but there are plenty of challenges with the \u201cfuturistic, technologically advanced form of farming\u201d that the business entails, Nikki said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe learning curve has been steeper than we thought it would be,\u201d she said. \u201cThe machinery is complex but Max is mechanically inclined, and with our skill set and combining forces, we are making it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the business is humming and up and running, you definitely have to monitor, love, and nourish it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a set-it-and-forget-it proposition,\u201d Max said. \u201cThere are plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and light systems, and software to program, operate, and monitor everything in the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also the component of selecting which crops to grow hydroponically. Max said not all greens grow well in this kind of environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou also want to choose plants that grow well together, such as a certain radishes planted next to lettuces that like the same conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe lettuce won\u2019t be crowded by the radishes that were harvested earlier.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crop selection is part of what the Poritzkys call \u201cgetting the recipe right.\u201d It is the challenge of formulating intensity of light, the mix of blue and red light, and nutrient level for the choice of crop, they said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Poritzkys enter the third year of operation, they feel comfortable with the commercial development strategy they based on strong backgrounds in nutrition, finance and marketing. One thing they have not yet done is enter retail stores or farmers markets.<\/p>\n

New restaurants are coming into the pipeline and the Poritzkys are committed to collaborating with other institutions such HVCC\u2019s culinary program. They are actively building their brand and looking toward the next level of scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur platform is more than selling. Part is about sustaining the food culture,\u201d they said. \u201cWe are here to stay and putting down roots. Literally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more at www.foothills-farm.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Looking back on their first full year of production, entrepreneurs Max and Nikki Poritzky have counted one ton of produce grown and distributed to restaurants and schools from their hydroponic farming facility, Foothills Farm, in Greenfield Center. 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