Salad Days is a hydroponic farm that specializes in growing pesticide-free produce and is able to supply a wide variety of lettuce 365 days a year. Family owned and operated by Jamie Redmond and Leigh Bailey.
Why Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using nutrient rich water in place of soil. Water usage is minimal making this method easily sustainable. The sterile, soil-free growing process greatly reduces the risk of pathogens and soil-borne diseases. Eliminating manure as a fertilizer cuts the risk of food borne illnesses, such as E coli and salmonella, from consuming fresh vegetables. Hydroponics does not result in any soil erosion, nor the loss of precious soil nutrients, while allowing complete control over plant nutrition for optimal flavor and quality.
SUSTAINABILITY
Our specially designed re-circulating hydroponic methods save land, conserve water, eliminate agricultural runoff and chemical pesticides, and offer the benefits of efficient, high-yield, local, and year-round food production.
• WATER CONSERVATION
Salad Days uses far less water than traditional field-grown agriculture. Our water is recycled and used multiple times, reducing the amount necessary by as much as 80% over crops grown outdoors.
• LAND PRESERVATION
Salad Days can produce the equivalent of approximately 5-6 acres of field grown produce in our 18,000 square foot controlled environment greenhouse. This keeps our land use requirements at a minimum.
• INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT
Greenhouse grown produce is much less susceptible to pests & disease but when the need arises, Salad Days uses beneficial insects, like ladybugs & lacewings, to combat the harmful ones instead of using harsh chemical pesticides.
FRESHNESS AND HEALTH
Crops are grown, cared for, and harvested to achieve optimum taste and nutrition. Our products are often harvested just a few hours before they reach a restaurant plate or supermarket shelf, ensuring absolute freshness and nutrition. Our proximity to our customers ensures that our produce does not spend days on a truck in transit but instead arrives at its peak of freshness.
• FOOD SAFETY
Salad Days' stringent food safety plans have been developed according to the USDA's Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) guidelines to ensure product safety and eliminate potential for product contamination. We are GAP/GHP certified and are routinely audited by the USDA. Our clean growing environment minimizes the risk of food-borne diseases.
Salad Days likes to think of our produce as “Better Than Organic.” By this we mean that by not using animal waste fertilizers, we have reduced the risk of contamination by bacteria like E. coli & Salmonella. Our greenhouses keep animals from entering the production area and our clean controlled environment means peace of mind for our consumers.
• NEVER OUT OF SEASON
Growing indoors protects our produce from bad weather and temperature swings that can cause blemished vegetables, short supply, and wild price fluctuations. Salad Days will be growing high-quality produce year round.
By the time most produce arrives at your supermarket, it’s traveled clear across the country. Salad Days grows produce locally year-round, so it’s fresher, tastier, and more nutritious. Plus, our produce is non-GMO and never sprayed with pesticides.
