Our Practices

Carolina Hydrogreens grows products using a hydroponic greenhouse. The whole process begins with a sheet of cubes. We plant one seed per cube. After the seeds germinate, we place them in the nursery. They stay in the nursery for about 2 weeks.

Once the 2 weeks are up, we take them out of the nursery and transplant them into the nursery channels. These have close spacing but it gives them a lot more room to catch more sunlight. They stay here for another 2 weeks.

The NFT System

We use what’s called a NFT system which stands for Nutrient Film Technique. The channels are at a slight downward angle. A small hose feeds the water with nutrients in at one end of the channel creating a thin “film” of water. It then runs down the channel to the collector pipe then back to the reservoir. It constantly re-circulates the water 24/7. This technique uses up to 95% less water than traditional field grown lettuce. Being there isn’t any dirt or any type of chemicals being sprayed on the lettuce it stays clean and free from grit.

A Finished Product

The final transplanting is into the finishing channels. These channels have a much wider spacing to give them plenty of room to fill out so the plants aren’t cramping each other. Once again they will also stay in these for 2 to 3 weeks depending on temperature and sunlight. They really take off after the last transplanting. We do not store our products here. Once everything is ready, we harvest and deliver in the same day for the ultimate freshness.