Farm in a warehouse

Imagine a farm where every day ushers in a new peak growing season. A farm where harvesting is done daily year-round, and where the crops only receive the purest nutrition and water.

Now move that farm to a warehouse in east Lakewood, and that’s where Infinite Harvest can be found.

The company has been in the city for little under a year, and is an agricultural engineering and sustainable crop production company that creates controlled-environment vertical farming systems to grow fresh produce.

“We planted our first seeds on Dec. 24 and have been selling our crops to local restaurants,” said Tommy Romano , CEO and founder of Infinite Harvest. “We have a waiting list for potential clients for when we finish our build-out, which should be done by the fall.”

Infinite Harvest grew out of Romano’s efforts to develop a sustainable solution to produce food on Mars during the early 2000s. Six years later technology caught up with his ideas, thanks to advancements in LED lights and renewable energy. He started the company in 2009 and Sean McVay, chief operating officer, joined in 2010.

The two developed a prototype of their vertical farm in Golden, and thanks to private funding, were able to start their work in earnest in Lakewood.

Infinite Harvest controls every aspect of the environment for its plants, and is able to grow without using any chemicals, pesticides, herbicides or GMOs. Sensors are spaced all over the vertical garden that monitor temperature and water levels, and make alterations as needed. During the evening, the plants are only exposed to blue and red lights on the color spectrum, because they’re the only colors the plants need.

“All the systems are custom designed and built by us,” McVay said. “We’ve got it to the point where it allows us to harvest every single week. We can send food from farm to table four to six times a month.”

The company hasn’t made full use of its warehouse space yet. Currently it has around 7,300 plants, but at full build-out it will have around 120,000 to 125,000. This is equivalent to about a two-acre farm fit into a 5,400-square-foot warehouse. The plants use about 5 percent of the volume that would be required on a farm.

“Right now we’re growing mixed greens, arugula and basil, but we have plans to expand our crops when we finish our build-out,” McVay said. “We’re hoping to be finished with our building by August.”

The crops grown at Infinite Harvest are being sold to local restaurants, but the company has bigger plans. With some tweaks, this system can work in any environment, so they offer to design and build similar facilities in other locations, and help their clients run the farms. There are already discussions around expanding in Denver and nationally, and there have been conversations with international clients, Romano said.

The research side of Infinite Harvest is constantly examining the processes at work, and looking ways to fine-tune and perfect them. But initial efforts are promising.

“It’s always peak growing season here,” Romano said.

For more information, call 303-913-4133 or visit www.infinite-harvest.com.

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