Ryan Kinnison, director of operations, said Crystal Farms was delighted to find a location receptive to new businesses, especially farming.
Chefs in Wheat Ridge’s Italian restaurants will soon have the next
best thing to cooking with tomatoes grown right outside their doors.
By June, they should be able to buy tomatoes grown in a greenhouse at 44th Avenue and Yarrow Street. The first crop should be ready to pick in about six weeks and will be harvested on the vine. Varieties being grown at the greenhouse include three kinds of heirloom tomatoes, Beefsteaks and San Marzanos — a type of plum tomato favored by cooks for making the best-flavored tomato sauce.
“Their eyes are just going to light up,” said Rich Naha, CEO of Circle Fresh Farms, which is leasing the greenhouse that used to produce carnations.
Circle Fresh Farms was established in Denver in 2011. It is a network of farms, including independent growers that partner with the company, along the Front Range that grow and market produce in a 400-mile radius of Denver. Crystal Farms staff provide partners with advice and help to build or retrofit greenhouses, and about greenhouse growing and maintenance. The company also markets and distributes produce so farmers can concentrate on growing crops.
Ryan Kinnison, director of operations, said Crystal Farms was delighted to find a location receptive to new businesses, especially farming.
“Wheat Ridge is a great location to find this infrastructure. They are very receptive to business in general,” Kinnison said. “You see a lot of businesses moving away from cities and counties because of the various hurdles they have to jump.”
In Wheat Ridge, Circle Fresh has started growing cucumbers and lettuce, along with the tomatoes. Naha said about 18,000 pounds of tomatoes will be exported from the location every week this summer.
He said all growing methods used at the greenhouse are organic. Only vegetable-based organic nutrients will be used, and instead of pesticides, integrated pest-management techniques are used. The company relies on bees and ladybugs instead of chemical solutions.
“For every pest, there is a counterpest,” Naha said.
A hive with 8,000 bees is working in the greenhouse currently. According to Naha, they are just like any other employee at the location.
“They show up every day, and don’t complain, they just do their job,” he said. Their job is pollination.
The locally grown products will be sold locally too. The day after fruits and vegetables are picked, they will be on the shelves of stores and in the coolers of restaurants in the community, Naha said. Among the vendors Circle Fresh works with is Whole Foods.
“Picking at that time, when the produce is 100 percent ripe, effects taste and nutrition,” he said.
Naha said Circle Fresh Farms doesn’t just produce food; the company aims to get people interested in farming as a career. He said there has been a decrease in small farms because of the cost of getting produce from the fields to the market.
Circle Fresh Farms combats this by taking the job of the middle man out of the equation so farmers can sell directly to local stores. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that farmers working with large markets only make 9 cents on every dollar. Circle Fresh greenhouse growers are estimated to make 80 cents on every dollar, Naha said. About a dozen people will be employed at the Wheat Ridge greenhouse.
Another goal of Naha’s is to put returning veterans jobs to work. Currently, six veterans work at the greenhouse in Wheat Ridge. They take part in a nine-module training program to learn how to set up, run and maintain a greenhouse.
“Returning veterans have a difficult time re-entering the community,” Naha said. “Working with plants is nurturing, and it’s been proven to be very therapeutic.”
He said this kind of work is peaceful for vets who may have a hard time working with other people.
By June, they should be able to buy tomatoes grown in a greenhouse at 44th Avenue and Yarrow Street. The first crop should be ready to pick in about six weeks and will be harvested on the vine. Varieties being grown at the greenhouse include three kinds of heirloom tomatoes, Beefsteaks and San Marzanos — a type of plum tomato favored by cooks for making the best-flavored tomato sauce.
“Their eyes are just going to light up,” said Rich Naha, CEO of Circle Fresh Farms, which is leasing the greenhouse that used to produce carnations.
Circle Fresh Farms was established in Denver in 2011. It is a network of farms, including independent growers that partner with the company, along the Front Range that grow and market produce in a 400-mile radius of Denver. Crystal Farms staff provide partners with advice and help to build or retrofit greenhouses, and about greenhouse growing and maintenance. The company also markets and distributes produce so farmers can concentrate on growing crops.
Ryan Kinnison, director of operations, said Crystal Farms was delighted to find a location receptive to new businesses, especially farming.
“Wheat Ridge is a great location to find this infrastructure. They are very receptive to business in general,” Kinnison said. “You see a lot of businesses moving away from cities and counties because of the various hurdles they have to jump.”
In Wheat Ridge, Circle Fresh has started growing cucumbers and lettuce, along with the tomatoes. Naha said about 18,000 pounds of tomatoes will be exported from the location every week this summer.
He said all growing methods used at the greenhouse are organic. Only vegetable-based organic nutrients will be used, and instead of pesticides, integrated pest-management techniques are used. The company relies on bees and ladybugs instead of chemical solutions.
“For every pest, there is a counterpest,” Naha said.
A hive with 8,000 bees is working in the greenhouse currently. According to Naha, they are just like any other employee at the location.
“They show up every day, and don’t complain, they just do their job,” he said. Their job is pollination.
The locally grown products will be sold locally too. The day after fruits and vegetables are picked, they will be on the shelves of stores and in the coolers of restaurants in the community, Naha said. Among the vendors Circle Fresh works with is Whole Foods.
“Picking at that time, when the produce is 100 percent ripe, effects taste and nutrition,” he said.
Naha said Circle Fresh Farms doesn’t just produce food; the company aims to get people interested in farming as a career. He said there has been a decrease in small farms because of the cost of getting produce from the fields to the market.
Circle Fresh Farms combats this by taking the job of the middle man out of the equation so farmers can sell directly to local stores. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that farmers working with large markets only make 9 cents on every dollar. Circle Fresh greenhouse growers are estimated to make 80 cents on every dollar, Naha said. About a dozen people will be employed at the Wheat Ridge greenhouse.
Another goal of Naha’s is to put returning veterans jobs to work. Currently, six veterans work at the greenhouse in Wheat Ridge. They take part in a nine-module training program to learn how to set up, run and maintain a greenhouse.
“Returning veterans have a difficult time re-entering the community,” Naha said. “Working with plants is nurturing, and it’s been proven to be very therapeutic.”
He said this kind of work is peaceful for vets who may have a hard time working with other people.
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