SAN ANTONIO – The team at Gardopia Gardens is growing microgreens inside a shipping container on their property on the East Side of San Antonio.
“We have some broccoli and some radish right here,” said Stephen Lucke, CEO and founder of Gardopia Gardens.
Produce is growing inside the Microgreen Eatery and Mushroom Education Laboratory. It’s a project that started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During COVID we had to pivot in regards to getting food to people faster, so we decided that microgreens can grow in 7 to 14 days, mushrooms in little as 21 days. We can get crops out pretty quickly and essentially address food insecurity aligned with our mission,” Lucke said.
Inside the lab is filled with technology and microgreens that can grow year round.
“You need to have a temperature controlled location. We like to keep it around 74 degrees for our microgreens. And you also want to keep your humidity at a pretty good rate,” Lucke said.
Lucke said people can bring the joys of gardening indoors and grow microgreens at home.
“As long as you have one of those stainless steel shelves with four levels. You can grow microgreens with an LED light and a watering system. Essentially that’s what we have done here, but we’ve actually brought a lot of tech into it as well,” Lucke said.
The team at Gardopia Gardens is getting to participate in the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
“We will have an urban agriculture exhibit where people can learn more as well,” Lucke said.
The team hopes to not only continue growing produce, but healthy communities through garden based learning.