Nutrient Dense Hydroponic Produce Grown Locally.
Roka Farms is a local indoor hydroponic farm using only heirloom seeds to grow highly nutritious, tasty, and unique produce. Chad Brandenburg is the founder of Roka Farms. Chad left corporate America in 2017 and started Roka Farms to be able to sustainably produce highly nutritious food to feed the local communities where it operates. Roka Farms operates out of a vacant former grocery store in a food desert on the East Side of Indianapolis.
What is hydroponics? Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants in a nutrient-rich solution, rather than in soil, and under controlled conditions of light, temperature, and humidity. Hydroponics dates back to 1627.
What does Roka Farms Grow? Roka Farms currently grows microgreens for sale to the public, for wholesale food service, and directly to restaurants.
What is a microgreen? A microgreen is a tiny form of edible greens produced from the seeds of vegetable, herbs or other plants. young seedling of edible vegetables and herbs. Microgreens contain between 4 and 40 times the nutrient density of their adult plant. They contain their dense nutritional value but are topped off with an extra boost of life sustaining chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is defined as “nature’s greatest healer” since it contains more healing properties than any other element.
Sustainable Vertical Farming is typically done with hydroponics where produce, herbs, vegetables, and fruits are grown indoors via controlled environment agriculture (CEA). This is important because:
Benefit to Customers:
Sustainably Grown - Roka Farms grows produce, vegetables and fruit without the use of pesticides or herbicides.
Food Safety - Clean production environment, minimal product handling, no processing (washing).
Consistency – Roka Farms has no seasonality. It can grow its product mix 24/7/365.
Non-GMO – No Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMO’s”) are used in our farm.
Quality – Roka Farms uses heirloom seeds and the perfect growing conditions to grow the highest quality, best tasting and most nutritious produce possible.
Freshness – Roka Farms produce is delivered hours after harvest providing the longest shelf life possible.
Pest Control – Controlled Environment Agriculture (“CEA”) requires no chemical herbicides or pesticides.
Plant Nutrition – Roka Farms controlled environment (light spectrum, temperature, humidity, CO2 level, nutrient etc.) provides the optimal atmosphere for plants to grow allowing for produce with the highest nutritional values possible.
Social benefits
Food Security – Roka Farms acts as a security net for vegetable supplies when extreme weather damages crops on soil farms.
Runoff – Our hydroponic system uses a closed loop system which recycles the water and thus generates no runoff.
Water Efficiency - uses 95% less water than traditional soil farms.
Land Use – Roka Farms will produce 100 times more produce per acre than a traditional farm.
Food Miles – We grow our produce locally reducing the distance food travels to less than 100 miles.
Food Waste – Growing our produce locally dramatically reduces the food waste generated by traveling long distances.
Neighborhood Revitalization – Roka Farms purchased a vacant building in a depressed neighborhood and is putting it to good use again.
