The final tour I attended as part of Wyoming Women in Ag, was the one to Greybull Valley Produce in Greybull, Wyoming. I admit, I had a few stops in Worland to do along the way, and so was a bit late in arriving.
They raise mainly lettuce varieties but do have some fresh herbs as well. Pelleted seeds are planted in soil plugs and initially are kept in the small trays under grow lights.
Once they’ve gotten off to a good start, the small plants in their soil plugs are then inserted into styrofoam trays.
The styrofoam trays float on top of 7” of water that contains all the liquid nutrients needed. Butter lettuce, spring mix, leafy green, and romaine lettuce are all planted according to demand.
New plants are inserted into the pools at one end and fully grown lettuce is harvested at the other. They do harvest and package them on site, delivering them throughout northern Wyoming and some parts of Montana.
I think this is SOOOO cool, probably because I did a hydroponics extra credit project in seventh grade!
I can testify to the deliciousness of their butter lettuce and its longevity. So many people love the precut bagged salads, but give me this any day!
Their herbs look great, too, by the way.
The website has a list of those restaurants using and the businesses that sell Greybull Valley Produce. I very much enjoyed this tour, loving the seeming simplicity of it and the grand idea of “farm to table”.
*They are on city water but once their ponds were full their water use is minimal using just enough to keep fresh water trickling in.
* They keep the greenhouse between 65-70* and the ponds are shallow enough that the water maintains that temperature as well. They use natural gas and coal for heat, both available locally and inexpensive. Coal provides a more dry heat.
* Extra grow lights are used during winter months with the darkness we experience here.
* They are installing a shade for summer months (too much sunshine) which can also act as a heat barrier to keep it warmer in the winter.
*They test the water to track the nutrients just as farmers do soil tests.
Thanks to Wyoming Women in Ag for the chance to tour Greybull Valley Produce.
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Thanks for the AG tour! It was very interesting!
Thumbs up for this successful, year-round farm-to-table enterprise.
Very interesting ..and you are lucky to have access to really fresh greens.