Spring Born is a 2.5-acre indoor farm located in Silt, CO. We grow USDA-certified organic leafy greens in a large-scale, automated greenhouse.

We’re here to transform one aspect of our food system for the better, and that’s how we’ve been growing and distributing fresh greens. Our goal is to get fresher, cleaner, and flavorful greens to more people, and do so using less water and land compared to large-scale outdoor farms. 

Our vision for Spring Born is to use the entire property for both indoor and outdoor agriculture, using practices that are good for the environment and our community. 

Growing produce indoors isn’t a new invention – what’s new is the ability to do it more efficiently and safely. At Spring Born, we grow our greens in a soil medium (USDA-certified organic compost) because we think that leads to the best-tasting product. 

Here are the other reasons why we love what we do: 

Responsible use of Resources

Spring Born uses about 95% less water and 90% less land than a soil farm growing the same amount of produce. Not all land use is good use – some traditional field farming is beneficial to land and water ecosystems, but not all field farming is beneficial. Depending on the farming practices used, field agriculture can damage natural ecosystems. Field-grown agriculture is also susceptible to mother nature (i.e. droughts, hurricanes, pollution, etc.)  

Cleanliness

Since we’re growing fresh food in an environmentally controlled and automated facility, we don’t require the use of pesticides or herbicides and we can keep our greens clean by maintaining hands-free seeding, harvesting, and packaging. The first time our greens are touched by a human hand is when you open the package in your kitchen! 

Freshness

Greenhouse growing allows our greens to have a long shelf life (14 days) which helps all of us reduce food waste and enjoy just-harvested freshness for longer. In the U.S., most salad greens are grown outdoors on fields in California or Arizona, and often washed and packed in different locations before they’re distributed thousands of miles via trucks. At Spring Born, our greens are grown, harvested, packed, and shipped out of one location – so you always know where your greens come from. 

Consistent Supply

We grow nutritious and fresh greens all year long!

We grow USDA-certified organic leafy greens. Learn more here.

No. Our controlled environment greenhouse keeps our products at a much lower risk for contamination and pests compared to field-grown greens.

Because we don’t use pesticides, herbicides, or other harsh chemicals, and Spring Born is a hands-free production greenhouse, we don’t wash our greens before packaging them. And, we don’t love the ingredients sometimes used in a “triple wash” process, so we don’t want to shower your greens that way! Our greens can be consumed as soon as you open the package in your kitchen, but for freshness and crispness, we think it’s a good idea to give them a quick rinse just before you use them.

Yes, we use a fertilizer that’s approved by the USDA organic program. The fertilizer is applied to the organic peat via our smart irrigation system.

We grow our greens in nutritious, USDA-certified organic compost and we’ve chosen this option because we’re prioritizing flavor. In addition, our integrated greenhouse model – with growing, harvesting, packing, and shipping occurring at the same facility – allows us to shorten the supply chain and get greens to stores faster. We think freshness always tastes better!

Our farming team uses nutritious, USDA-certified organic compost as the growing medium, and therefore the nutritional value of the greens we grow should be similar to the nutrition of field-grown crops.

Yes, we follow the GLOBAL G.A.P. food safety program.

The primary source of light for the greenhouse is (and always will be) natural sunlight. When needed and as determined by our farming team, we supplement natural sunlight with artificial grow lights to help greens grow strong.

We package our greens in a clamshell made of 100% recycled plastic (both post-consumer and post-industrial), and the plastic tub is recyclable after use. To reduce our plastics footprint further, we also use a breathable film cover instead of a plastic lid – just remove the top film from your Spring Born product and recycle the bottom clamshell once you’re finished with it!

Just like you, we’re ready to get rid of plastics – especially single-use plastics. Recycling just isn’t a good, long-term solution to the problem. Better packaging options are the long-term solution. We’re continually talking to packaging suppliers about a non-plastic packaging solution that would keep our greens fresh and protected in transport, and work within our hands-free automated packing line.

We believe a sustainable business means more than just using resources more responsibly.

We can grow the same amount of food as a large-scale field farm using 90% less water and 90% less land. Not all land use is good use – some traditional field farming is beneficial to land and water ecosystems, but not all field farming is beneficial. Depending on the farming practices used, field agriculture can deplete soil and resources. 

We’re using mostly natural sunlight to grow our greens and only supplementing with artificial light as needed. 

We package our greens in 100% recyclable material with a film cover (vs. plastic lid) to further reduce our plastics footprint.

We’re building a healthy culture & work environment that supports the livelihoods and lifestyles of our team members. We donate any surplus greens to the Food Bank of the Rockies.

Just like you, we’re ready to get rid of plastic – especially single-use plastics. We’re searching for better solutions that keep our greens fresh and work with our automated packing line. Knowing that our current packaging is made of 100% recycled plastic (both post-consumer and post-industrial recycled PET) makes us feel a little better. We’ll keep you posted with packaging updates as we continue to explore other options.

Growing the best, cleanest lettuce is our number one priority. Our controlled environment greenhouse keeps our products at a much lower risk for contamination compared to field-grown greens. Our greens are grown in organic, sterile compost and fed water from the private wells on the ranch property the greenhouse is located on. And, we use a reverse osmosis system to clean our water before it enters the facility.

In terms of COVID-19 protocols, here’s what we do at Spring Born to protect our team and your food:

• We follow GLOBAL G.A.P food safety protocols and are GLOBAL G.A.P certified. 
• Our fully automated seeding, harvesting and packaging system means our hands don’t need to touch the greens. The first time Spring Born greens are touched is when you open a package in your kitchen! 
• Our team members are encouraged to stay home if they’re sick. We offer paid sick days to help our team members feel good about staying home and getting well before returning to work.

Thank you for your interest in touring our farm! We will announce community days and tours via our social channels as they’re planned. If you’d like to tour as part of a specific group or project, or you’re a customer or member of the media, please contact danielle@springborn.us.