Alegria Farms Brings Fresh Produce To The Urban Sprawl
Located at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA, Alegría Farm is part of a 1.4 acre solar-powered demonstration center, a project jointly developed by Alegría Fresh and Orange County Produce, LLC. The farm supports more than 60 cultivators growing over 50,000 plants utilizing hydroponic and natural, nutrient-dense configurations.
Alegría Farm’s resource-efficient technologies demonstrate how urban microfarms can supply their communities with superior quality, locally grown, fresh produce while reducing transportation and preserving natural resources.
Hydroponic farming is soil-less. Alegría’s hydroponic vertical farm uses coconut fiber (coir) instead of soil, which prevents contamination by soil-borne diseases and food-borne pathogens such as E. Coli, Listeria and Salmonella.
Alegría’s hydroponic vertical farm encompasses 3,000 square feet, and contains 130 hydroponic vertical towers in 10 rows, with each tower growing approximately 40 plants in a footprint of 2 sq. ft. Less than ¾ gallon per day is used in watering each tower and no water is wasted. The entire vertical growing system is solar powered.
Alegría’s hydroponic vertical farm system is perfect for home use where space is limited. It uses no soil, 90 percent less water, 70 percent less land and 50 percent less fertilizer than traditional farming. Applicable to commercial or home use, Alegría systems produce clean, natural food faster and allow plants to grow bigger and stronger, making the plants more pest resistant.
Alegria’s new Soxx farm demonstrates natural, nutrient-dense food production using GardenSoxx, an innovative natural, nutrient-dense food production system that can be used over cement or other man-made surfaces. The Alegría Soxx farm, a joint venture between Alegría Fresh, Orange County Produce, LLC and Filtrexx Corporation, consists of 13 rows of 5 Soxx each, for a total of 7,200 linear feet of growing space within an 8,500 sq. ft. area (approx. 1/5 acre). Production yields nearly double that of conventional farming. Water usage is 70% less and other cost savings such as being weed-free increase the ROI of this new micro farm. Thirteen different specialty crops including four cultivators of beets, onions, red and green romaine, radicchio, treviso, red and green cabbage and kale are being grown to demonstrate the versatility of the system and prove that urban microfarms can be profitable with no subsidies required. Alegría Farms can be employed in densely populated urban environments bringing access to superior food closer to where people live and work.