Alegria Fresh Unveils Urban Microfarming System at Orange County Great Parks
LOS ANGELES, June 27, 2019 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – On a 2,000-square-foot piece of land inside a park that used to house the El Toro marine air base in Orange County, California, farmers are growing vegetables thanks to an innovation that allows unlikely segments of urban land to be used for harvesting crops.
The system is called SoxxBoxx, which uses raised planter boxes lined with soil held in rows by porous polypropylene “socks.” These socks retain water and keep the soil temperature cool even on hot days, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article.
Soxxboxx can also be used in other urban microfarms to solve the problem of “food desert” neighborhoods where access to fresh produce is increasingly scarce—particularly in low-income areas, says Erik Cutter, managing director of organic urban farming company Alegria Fresh, which pioneered the SoxxBoxx Gro system.
The US$20K project—a joint venture between the Great Park’s Farm + Food Lab, organic urban farming company Alegria Fresh and Bank of America, which helped fund it—optimizes the genetic potential of leafy greens, herbs and vegetables by using rich ‘living soil’ that contains essential minerals and microbes to allow plants to flourish, according to Alegria Fresh’s company website.
The cooperative effort grows about 25 to 30 different types of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, including edible marigolds and multiple colors of Swiss chard, kale, and tomatoes.
“The socks are full of enriched soil that makes pesticides unnecessary,” Cutter told the Register. “The system also saves water by collecting it in the plant trays for reabsorption instead of letting it drain away.”
Elevated to about hip-height, the farm system is safe from pests, easily transportable, and can be placed pretty much anywhere with considerable water access, Cutter said.
“When we put our living soil filled socks in a tray, we create micro-environments between the socks and the sides of the tray that promote plant growth through greater access to oxygen,” Cutter explained in a Garden Collage magazine article. “The best qualities of hydroponic, aeroponic, and organic farming are realized in one system.”
Designed to appeal to farmers and home growers alike, SoxxBoxx trays come in three sizes: 3 feet by 6 feet, 4 feet by 4 feet, and 4 feet by 8 feet. The Los Angeles Times reported SoxxBoxx’s retail price for a 4-by-8 tray to be US$1,000. One system typically yields six to eight crop cycles per year, uses 50% fewer fertilizers, zero toxic pesticides, and 95% less water, reports Garden Collage magazine.
The system also maintains a modular design that can be scaled to any size, Cutter said.
“This is a method that can be deployed at large scale and actually solve the problem of food deserts,” he said in a YouTube video.
Another project by Alegria is Crestvilla in Laguna Niguel, California, a senior living community with ten 4-by-8 systems installed on the roof. “We’re looking at ways to make our seniors more active and our system provides that,” Cutter told Garden Collage magazine. “Offering regenerative food production systems in senior living communities creates more engagement and results in a healthy and stimulating community experience.”
Cutter has also been involved in cannabidiol (CBD) research for more than 20 years and was featured in the film, “The Need To Grow,” which engages the problem of feeding more than 7 billion people without destroying the environment.
The installment of Cutter’s SoxxBoxx tray growing system is new to Orange County’s Great Park, but there’s been active farming in this region before.
Former state agriculture secretary A.G. Kawamura, for example, sees farming as an integral part of the Great Park and its wider urban locales because he believes everyone should have access to food that is sustainably sourced and wholesome, the Orange County Register reported.
“We continue to believe that there’s an incredible need and opportunity for agriculture at many different scales as a destination that people would want to visit and enjoy and participate in as a park experience,” said Kawamura.
For Alegria’s joint venture partner Bank of America, financing SoxxBoxx projects helps the bank achieve environmental goals by creating sustainable, living-wage jobs for urban farmers. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the bank’s Orange County senior vice president Shari Battle said she envisions filling many empty lots in Orange County with SoxxBoxxes.
