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US: Illinois container farms thriving in Lockport

A financial consultant with a passion for sustainability and a Lewis University Romeoville alumna with social service and environmental science backgrounds are running a Lockport business – and loving it.

Ajay Nagarkatte, a consultant to financial institutions who is an urban farming enthusiast, started Second City Greens in 2021 in Lockport. Frank Voltattorni III joined as farm manager a short time later. Second City Greens is a hydroponic farm that grows seven varieties of herbs, artisanal lettuces and select leafy greens, such as Swiss chard and kale.

Hydroponic plants grow in special nutrient-rich water instead of soil, Voltattorni said. Second City Greens also uses coconut coir – the natural fiber found on the outer husk of a coconut – as its supporting surface, he said.

The entire hydroponic farm is contained in two 40-foot truck trailers and gives a similar yield as plants grown on a "regular farm" of 8 to 10 acres, Voltattorni said. Second City Greens uses no herbicides, pesticides or genetically modified organisms.

Read more at SHAW Local News Network

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