Is Grow Space Organic? An Honest Answer About How We Grow
Share
The short answer: No, Grow Space Vertical Farms is not certified organic. Our leafy greens are grown indoors in Kenosha, WI without any pesticides, herbicides, or petroleum-based fertilizers. We feed our plants with mineral nutrients that are naturally derived — mined from the earth, not made from petrochemicals. Here's the full story.
A customer recently asked us whether our greens are organic, and it's a fair question — one we'd rather answer in full than dodge with marketing language. So let's break it down.
What do we actually feed our plants?
Plants can't absorb compost, manure, or fish emulsion directly. In soil, microbes break organic matter down into simple mineral ions — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and so on — and that's what roots actually take up.
In our vertical farm, we skip the middle step. We dissolve those same essential minerals directly into water and deliver them straight to the roots. The plant receives the exact same nutrients it would pull from healthy soil — just with more precision and zero guesswork.
Our nutrients are:
- Mineral-based and naturally derived — refined from mined mineral deposits, not synthesized from petroleum
- Free of animal byproducts — no fish emulsion, bone meal, blood meal, or manure
- Precisely dosed — plants get what they need, nothing more, with no runoff into local waterways
Why isn't Grow Space certified organic?
Three honest reasons.
1. Most organic-approved fertilizers for hydroponics are animal-derived. The go-to organic inputs — fish emulsion, bone meal, blood meal, manure — come from animal agriculture. That conflicts with our values and introduces consistency and food-safety variables we'd rather not have in a system where greens grow inches from their water supply. Our mineral approach keeps our greens clean, consistent, and vegan-friendly (and no, mineral nutrients wouldn't qualify as organic inputs — we're fine with that).
2. Organic certification for soilless farms is genuinely contested. Some certifiers will certify hydroponic farms; others refuse on principle, arguing organic must mean soil. Even within the organic world, there's no consensus that a farm like ours can be organic. We'd rather not hang our credibility on a label the industry itself disagrees about.
3. Certification is built for a different kind of farm. The cost and paperwork of certification make sense for large operations shipping to grocery chains. We're a small local farm you can visit, question, and watch on social media. Our customers don't need a certificate to know how we grow — they can ask us directly, and we'll show them.
Don't organic farms avoid pesticides too?
This surprises a lot of people: organic does not mean pesticide-free. Organic farms are allowed to spray pesticides — they just have to be from an approved list, mostly naturally derived substances, plus a handful of permitted synthetics.
And "natural" doesn't automatically mean harmless. Rotenone is a good example: a plant-derived pesticide long approved for organic farming. Research published in 2011 linked rotenone exposure to increased Parkinson's disease risk — yet the USDA didn't formally prohibit it in organic crop production until 2019.
None of this is a knock on organic farmers — approved organic pesticides are heavily vetted, and organic standards exist for good reasons. It's just important context for what the label does and doesn't promise. Here's the difference at Grow Space: we don't use pesticides at all. Not organic-approved ones, not natural ones, none. Our sealed, controlled indoor environment means pests rarely get in — so there's simply nothing to spray for.
What "not organic" does NOT mean
This is the part that matters most, because "not organic" can create the wrong picture. At Grow Space:
- We never use pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Our controlled indoor environment keeps pests out, so we never have to spray anything on your food.
- We don't use petroleum-derived fertilizers. Our minerals come from the earth, not an oil refinery.
- Nothing runs off into the environment. Our water and nutrients recirculate in a closed system, using a small fraction of the water of field farming.
- Your greens are harvested to order, usually reaching you within a day of harvest — not weeks after crossing the country in a truck.
Plenty of certified-organic produce is grown outdoors with organic-approved pesticides, shipped 1,500+ miles, and sits in cold storage before it reaches a shelf. A label tells you part of the story. It doesn't tell you the whole story.
Our standard: transparency over labels
We believe the strongest certification is an open door. You can visit our farm, ask us what's in our nutrient mix, and watch how we grow every week on our social channels. If you ever have a question about how your food is grown, ask us — we'll give you a straight answer, like this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grow Space certified organic? No. Grow Space Vertical Farms is not certified organic. We grow without pesticides or petroleum-based fertilizers, using naturally derived mineral nutrients.
Do you use pesticides on your greens? No — never. Our indoor controlled environment eliminates the need for pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides entirely.
Do organic farms use pesticides? Yes. Organic certification allows a list of approved pesticides — mostly naturally derived, plus some permitted synthetics. Organic does not mean pesticide-free. At Grow Space, we use no pesticides at all; our controlled indoor environment keeps pests out.
Are hydroponically grown greens as nutritious as soil-grown? Yes. Plants absorb nutrients as mineral ions whether they come from soil or water. Because our greens are harvested fresh and eaten locally within days, they often retain more nutrients than produce shipped long distances.
Are your greens vegan-friendly? Yes. We don't use animal-derived fertilizers like fish emulsion, bone meal, or manure — a common ingredient in many organic growing systems.
Can hydroponic farms be certified organic? Some are, though it remains contested within the organic industry. Most organic-approved hydroponic inputs are animal-derived, which is one reason we've chosen a mineral-based approach instead.
Where is Grow Space located? We're an indoor vertical farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin, growing lettuce, leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens for local subscriptions, pickups, delivery, and restaurants.
Have a question about how we grow? Send it our way — the next straight answer might be yours.