A ribbon-cutting event was held at Square Root's newest farm in Shepherdsville. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

BY GERALDINE TORRELLAS KENTUCKY

JUN. 07, 2023

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. — Quality, efficiency, and sustainability are a few words that stand out regarding the process of Shepherdsville’s new indoor farm, Square Roots.

What You Need To Know

Shepherdsville has a new indoor vertical farm called Square Roots.

The company uses 90% less water because of its filtration system that recycles its water.
The farm has a partnership with Gordon Food Service and the facilities are close to one another. Because of this, restaurants could receive produce that was harvested on the same day of delivery.
Leafy greens, herbs, and micro greens are among some of the produce that is grown at the farm.

“We grow from seed to harvest in about 26 days on average so it’s much lesser than a traditional farm and also we use about 90% less water because we recycle all of our water through filtration so that the nutrients stay good in the water so the plants grow,” said Joey Hightower, the general manager of the farm.

This is a concept that Square Roots’ co-founder, Tobias Peggs, started in Brooklyn, New York in 2016. What began in a parking lot has now expanded to five farms in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and now Kentucky.

“We’d like to collaborate with the local community, bring field farmers in to see what we’re doing, learn from their experiences and observations, and yeah, just be a good member of the local community,” said Peggs.

The farm is close to Gordon Food Service’s Shepherdsville facility, which will be among one company distributing Square Roots’ produce.

“It can be on a truck, on its way to a restaurant within hours of being harvested,” said Peggs. “The chef could open a package in the afternoon that was still a growing plant in the morning. It’s completely mind-blowing.”   

Because of this speed and the advanced technology that is used, the produce can last for about a couple of weeks. The company uses its own software system to control the climate settings, lighting and water for the plants.

“Indoor farming is so crucial, I believe, to our future because with different factors such as rain and insects, they really do a number on crops with traditional farming so what we’re doing here is we’re providing a safe zone, fresh products to grow all year round,” said Hightower.

The farm grows mostly leafy greens, herbs, and micro greens. It has 2.6 million plants growing at any given time.