Jill Theriault and Laura Saueracker Want to Use New Technology to Grow Greens All-Year-Round

Imagine buying a bunch of kale or a basket of fresh, locally grown strawberries — in the dead of February. 

It sounds far-fetched, but it’s possible, thanks to new technology that allows farmers to grow plants in small, enclosed spaces with LED lights.

Jill Theriault and Laura Saueracker — two Edmonton-area grandmothers with a passion for farming — want to bring more of this new technology to Alberta and start their own company: Range Road Garden Farms.

“You go into the grocery store and see stickers from Mexico and Chile and you wonder... why aren’t we growing fresh vegetables here?” Saueracker said.

“We can fix this.”

The pair plan to buy an indoor farming system from ZipGrow Canada, the Canadian distributor for the Wyoming-based company, Bright Agrotech.

The “zip farm” would allow them to grow spinach, kale, lettuce and herbs on tall towers facing LED lights instead of the sun. 

Plants are hung on the towers, where they receive nutrient-rich water via a wicking strip. 

ZipFarms are unquestionably expensive. A beginner system costs $27,850, as well as an additional $6,200 for a plumbing package.

But compared to traditional farming, planting vertically has multiple benefits.

By eliminating soil, you get rid of bacteria and insects, which means you don’t need to spray your plants with pesticides. 

The system uses less water than a traditional field would.

Growing locally means smaller shipping costs and reduced fossil-fuel consumption, which is better for the planet.

Perhaps the biggest advantage is larger yields, thanks to the ability to grow vertically. 

“You can grow so much more in a smaller space,” Theriault said.

All in the family

Both women have farming in their family histories.

Saueracker grew up on a farm in Middle Musquodobit, N.S.,  where she helped her mother tend to a small greenhouse. 

Theriault, who grew up mostly in Cold Lake, spent her summers on her mother’s farm in southern Alberta, which still exists today.

The women met through their husbands, who worked together for the Canadian Forces.

Since the ZipFarm units aren’t yet available in Alberta, they plan to start growing in a greenhouse located about five kilometres south of Miquelon Lake. Assuming they raise the $10,000 by Oct. 21 (as of Monday, they were about 25 per cent there), they’ll purchase the growing systems in November.

Farming for the future

If projects like these pan out, they could be used to help combat food insecurity, particularly in northern Canadian communities.

A new report from the non-profit alliance, Food Secure Canada, suggests that people in some remote, northern communities have to spend more than half of their incomes on healthy groceries. (FSC arrived at this statistic by asking residents in three northern Ontario communities to report their food costs.)

Eventually, Theriault and Saueracker hope they could take units north and teach people how to use them. Or work with big growers to work with niche markets.

For now, though, they’re focused on selling their greens to local restaurants and to the public at farmers’ markets. 

“We’re still in the start-up phase,”  Saueracker said.