This is the first post in a series pertaining to starting and maintaining an Indoor Container Farm. The goals for our farm, at least as far out into the future as we can see them, are to:
- Try to replace a large % of our fresh fruit and vegetables with locally grown (by us) options.
- Track:
- How much this reduces our food bills *will need to come up with a cost per lb on all local grown food, including fixed costs and labor costs
- Taste differences between store bought and our home grown options
- All Cost – including materials and water/electric cost
- Hours it takes to start the farm and then ongoing maintenance for 2 – 3 years so total time commitment (initial and recurring) can be estimated
- If the initial list of plants below turns out to be fun then we will move on to the Restaurant Plants List to see if we can convert the garden into a profitable money maker that would allow a potential basement gardener to earn income from a hobby
- If this idea turns out to be more affordable & better tasting then outline how someone could get started and try to promote the idea. If a large % of the US was able to grow their own produce locally it greatly removes the need to ship produce all of the world, cutting down on carbon emissions and allowing for a more sustainable food model that is not controlled by only a handful of very large corporations.
Initial List:
Restaurant List:
- Microgreens
- Basil
- Mushrooms
- Mint
- Bay Leaves