Art Petrosemolo, Southeastern Pennsylvania Correspondent

Apr 23, 2021

Growing vegetables in a shipping container have opened new marketing opportunities for a Baltimore County farm.

The hydroponic growing system has allowed Karma Farm to sell fresh produce regardless of the season to high-end restaurants in Baltimore and Washington.

“Today we are delivering leafy greens and herbs year-round to a growing customer base,” said Jon Shaw, founder of the family operation.

The farm, which makes multiple weekly deliveries to 27 customers, has picked up clients through word of mouth and sampling visits arranged with chefs who find the farm on social media.

“Well-known chefs talk and move from restaurant to restaurant ... and they have brought us with them,” Shaw said.

The farm got its start just over a decade ago when Shaw was growing produce on 5 acres, both outside and in hoop houses, for retail sale as well as a nearly 100-member CSA.

Jon’s 28-year old son, Nat, learned the business from his dad as a teenager, and in the past few years he has helped Karma Farm pivot to the new customer base, embracing the new ag technologies.

Nat, now the farm’s hydroponic production manager, researched vertical growing in insulated shipping containers while he was studying entrepreneurship at the University of Baltimore and thought the year-round production method would be a good fit.

“Hydroponic container farming is still relatively new and is being introduced to farmers in parts of the country where short growing seasons, weather, and soil conditions make profitable, small family farming difficult,” he said.

With a feasibility study completed and a new focus for the business, the Shaws purchased a Leafy Green Machine container in 2017 from Freight Farms in Boston. The container is 40 feet long by 8 feet wide.

“These are the insulated type of refrigerated containers used to ship fresh produce across the country,” Nat said.

With delivery and setup, the container cost about $100,000.

Lead photo: Nat Shaw, left, and his dad, Karma Farm owner Jon Shaw, stand in their freight container.