To "Papa" Joe Wesnitzer, food isn't just fuel. It's medicine. "I was raised in a garden," Wesnitzer said. "Since I was able to crawl, (I was) following grandpa around in the garden."
Because of this, Wesnitzer grew up with a firm belief that what you eat matters. When his mother died and left him with about $30,000, Wesnitzer decided to dedicate those resources to opening a garden of his own: Papa Joe's Greenhouse.
"I thought, 'you know, growing food for other people sounds like a good thing to do,'" Wesnitzer said. Wesnitzer set up his first greenhouse in 2015 and harvested about 200 heads of lettuce per week, selling them at local farmers' markets. Ten years later, Papa Joe's Produce has turned into a three-greenhouse operation. Wesnitzer and his employees harvest around 1,600 plants every week, including basil, lettuce, Swiss chard, tomatoes and kale. But to grow that much food, it's taken some creativity — especially in a harsh Wyoming climate. With this in mind, Papa Joe's Produce uses hydroponics systems — a farming method using water-based solutions instead of soil-based solutions.
Papa Joe's Produce Operations Manager Adam Bunker said hydroponics also can use up to 80% less water than soil-based agriculture. "Outdoors is hard (in Wyoming)," Bunker said. "In a state where water is a premium, (as) Wyoming is a high plains desert, looking for things that are water efficient is pretty helpful. It also lets you target your nutrients, so you can get better plant growth."
Read more at The Sheridan Press