There’s an area in Sumner that occasionally radiates a neon pink glow in the sky, causing some residents to jokingly speculate on social media that aliens or a T-Mobile tower is nearby.
Some residents might have already solved this mystery on their own, but for those who haven’t realized it yet — the neon pink glow comes from a local hydroponic greenhouse farm.
DeGoede Farms at 8217 Riverside Dr. E. is about 50,000 square feet and produces year-round lettuce such as red butter and romaine. The farm has two greenhouses dedicated to growing lettuce as well as basil.
“Our main goal is to provide local food, specifically lettuce and leafy greens,” greenhouse operations manager Benjamin DeGoede Jr. said.
Hydroponic farming is when people grow produce by using water, DeGoede Jr. said. This type of farming requires LED lighting, heating and other things for a plant to flourish without soil.
The main greenhouse that holds all the lettuce operates on a raft-like system. On one end of the greenhouse, people place lettuce seeds on boards that have holes on them. The boards float because of the water underneath, which is pumped with nutrients.
As weeks go by, the boards gradually float their way to the other end of the greenhouse. At the same time, the boards bask in LED lights that automatically turn on and off, depending on when and if the sun decides to appear.
The LED lights are a mixture of red, white and a little bit of blue, DeGoede Jr. said. The neon pink color it emanates is typically used for plant growth. The lights usually turn on about 5 a.m. and turn off at sunset. Residents may have seen the glow at night, but that was when the farm crew was testing the lights and had them on different settings.
The neon pink lights can be seen from outside the greenhouse and reflect onto the sky, especially when it’s hazy. Residents who are members of the Sumner, WA Neighborhood Watch & News Facebook page occasionally post photos of the neon pink sky from their cars or homes.
DeGoede Sr. said the best meme they have seen about the neon pink lights was in reference to a “Seinfeld” episode — “The Chicken Roaster” — in which a shop opens across from Jerry and Kramer’s apartment. The shop had a large chicken sign that radiated a strong, red light.
“We use natural light on sunny days, depending on if the plant got that light it needs for that particular day,” DeGoede Jr. said.
In about 3.5 weeks, the boards have fully grown lettuce heads on the other end of the greenhouse. From there, people harvest them and package them in a cold room adjacent to the greenhouse.
The farm can produce about 7,000 lettuce heads per week, DeGoede Jr. said. That is about 364,000 lettuce heads per year. The type of lettuce they produce depends on what the produce buyers they work with want, he said.
“We harvest today, you get it tomorrow,” general manager Ben DeGoede Sr. said.
Unlike traditional farming, the farm’s produce is protected from rain or other potential food safety issues such as E. coli. The farm also saves lots of water by using collected rainwater, which they treat before using, DeGoede Jr. said.
“Personally, I’ll probably never be an outdoor farmer,” DeGoede Jr. said. “You’re using way less land … I think for lettuce and stuff it’s safer to do it indoors.”
There are some indoor farms in the state, but DeGoede Farms is the first of its kind, at least for now. In 2021 there were more than 2,300 farms in the country that grew hydroponic crops, The New York Times reported.
“This is as efficient as you can get,” DeGoede Sr. said. “We’re using less land, less water, and we’re growing it faster.”
The farm distributes its produce throughout the Puget Sound region as well as some parts of Oregon. People can expect to find the farm’s produce at stores such as QFC, DeGoede Sr. said.
The DeGoedes started the hydroponic greenhouse concept in 2016 at a smaller farm not too far from the farm’s current location, DeGoede Jr. said. It was about 6,000 square feet.
They bought the current farm in 2018, DeGoede Sr. said. They started planting in November 2021, which is when the pink light started raising questions, and have been harvesting since then, he said. The DeGoedes plan to add four more greenhouses at the farm in about two years. They’ll have the same glow.
DeGoede Sr. as well as his brothers and father have been working with greenhouses since the 1980s. The DeGoedes also run Windmill Gardens at 16009 60th St. E.
“Nobody was doing it here in Washington, so we started it,” DeGoede Sr. said.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022, 5:00 AM.
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