Sunday, February 23, 2025, 1:16AM |  34°
MENU
Advertisement
Employees at Fifth Season, a vertical farm in Braddock, inspect spinach plants for defective leaves.
7
MORE

Fifth Season takes vertical farming to a whole new level

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fifth Season takes vertical farming to a whole new level

Fifth Season’s verdant baby spinach screams farm fresh even though it’s grown nowhere near traditional farmland.

The sweet and slightly crunchy greens are grown in a Braddock warehouse on racks stacked 30 feet high. Located just a stone’s throw from U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant, it is urban farming at its core.

What makes the vertical farming operation especially unique is that it is automated and robots call the shots. About 40 to 60 machines are involved in every step of the life of the spinach and other leafy greens, from planting the seed to providing nutrients to the final packing.

Advertisement

Fifth Season does employ local “farm workers” to assist the robots in seeding, harvesting, packaging, quality assurance and control using computer software, but there is no human touch involved through it all.

“The first time someone ever touches the spinach leaf with a finger is when the package is opened,” says Grant Vandenbussche, chief category officer.

Co-founded by brothers Austin and Brac Webb and Austin Lawrence, Fifth Season started a year ago. Within months it was rolling out its baby spinach, leafy greens and salad kits.

“We wanted a name that represents what we are doing,” says Austin Webb, 32, who also is the CEO. “It is a call to the fact we have created an entirely new season. It is 24/7, 365 with the technology we have built.”

Advertisement

None of them planned to become modern farmers, says the Carnegie Mellon University grad, but they turned to vertical farming because it was an efficient, economically sustainable way to solve land and water woes.

‘Fields’ of greens

Fifth Season grows an equivalent production of 200 acres in 25,000 square feet of grow space. Its “fields” are stacked on top of one another in vertical shelves. When you add up all that surface area of grow space, it is more like 126,000 square feet.

“We also quickly turn crops at the farm,” Mr. Vandenbussche says.

While spinach takes about 40 days to grow outdoors and can be harvested only twice during its peak season, it takes the crop only three or four weeks to grow in the controlled environment and is harvested 19 times. Once the plants are harvested, a new cycle of reseeding begins with fresh media, seeds and nutrients.

“That’s why we get so much more productivity,” he says. “We are immediately reseeding our ‘land.’”

This controlled environment yields quality produce because it is always peak season at Fifth Season, says Chris Cerveny, who heads the Grow R&D division. Greens are grown in the same conditions year-round, getting the exact amount of nutrients and water they need. Because pests and airborne toxins also are kept at bay, crops can be produced without pesticides.

All that TLC comes through in the slightly curled baby spinach, which is sweet and not grassy. The leaf doesn’t wilt or get slimy or lose its slight crunch even after two weeks of refrigeration.

A lot of thought was given even for the curl, which gives the spinach a stronger volume, making it look full and bountiful. The curl also makes the spinach more forkable unlike its flat-leaf counterpart that is hard to stab on a plate.

Other leafy greens such as kale, mustard, Chinese cabbage, green tatsoi and purple pac choi are featured in two blends — Bridge City and Three Rivers. Fifth Season plans to roll out its Romaine lettuce in spring.

The greens also are found in four types of salad kits — Sweet Grains (blended greens, quinoa, chickpeas, corn, feta and poppy seed dressing), Crunchy Sesame (blended greens, farro, sesame sticks, dried cranberries and ginger-mandarin dressing), Toasted Tuscan (spinach, lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, bagel chips and vinaigrette), and Spicy Southwest (blended greens, black beans, pepitas, cotija cheese, corn-salsa sticks and chipotle ranch dressing) — which are available online and in Giant Eagle stores. A fifth salad kit is in the works and is being called “a shakeup of one of the most classic salads.”

While machines are a big part of what Fifth Season does, it seeks to keep human connection alive. It recently launched a recipe blog for those who have an appetite for cooking and writing, The Green Room is devoted to cataloging personal memories, dream meals and recipes via short stories.

Fifth Season also has partnered with the Penguins and is providing greens for the team’s pregame meals for the 2020-21 season.

“We want people in Pittsburgh to be able to eat the exact same delicious blend of greens that Sidney Crosby and company are eating,” Mr. Webb says. “We want people to know that there’s a new way to grow food and to eat and experience it.”

It’s all under control

Everything from seeding to packaging is done in four rooms. The process starts in the seeding and processing room, where seeds and growing media are placed inside black planter-like boxes called inserts. Each has a unique code that’s traced by a software system. The inserts go on white trays that pass through a photo station, feeding information to the computer system, and then glide into the bio dome.

There are two rooms in the bio dome, each with a grow space of 12,500 square feet. They’re lit up with a pinkish-purplish glow from high-efficiency LED light bulbs that mimic the different seasons of the year.

“They are positioned over the plants at different heights depending on stage of growth,” Mr. Cerveny says. “This is partly how we can provide consistently ideal growing conditions.”

As the plants grow, they are moved by a robot to optimize their growth cycle. Full-grown crops are transferred to the harvesting room by another robot.

“Harvesting is where it becomes like a Willy Wonka factory,” Mr. Vandenbussche says.

Long rows of trays filled with tiny plants are sent on a conveyor system to a station where workers inspect them for quality with surgical tools. After inspection, the plants are harvested by a robot and then immediately ride up a tall conveyor to be packaged and sealed in a 34- to 36-degree room so they remain fresh.

“Every crop we grow gets evaluated for maximum flavor, volume, crunch and color,” he says.

The plants’ intense, dark color is controlled by LED light bulbs, which are dialed up or down to get the correct hue. Although they never see the sun, the greens don’t get into a funk as humans might.

“What humans see in terms of light and how chlorophyll responds during photosynthesis are two different things,” Mr. Cerveny says. “Plants really only need red and blue light to grow effectively. We include some additional colors to help bring out other quality aspects of our crops, but providing the full sunlight spectrum is effectively a waste of energy, especially indoors.

“To the human eye, it looks like the plants live in a land of purple and pink lights, but they are perfectly happy there.”

Even though the environment is controlled and the software system is constantly updated, no two plants are exactly the same. Some fight for light more than others. Some might fail the quality control test and end up in a compost waste facility if their flavor is off or their color is not right.

“That is what is so amazing. We have more control than any other farmer, and yet we have limitations. Every seed is different,” Mr. Vandenbussche says. “They are plants. They are real living organisms.”

Arthi Subramaniam: asubramaniam@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1494.

Orange Spinach Salad


PG tested

Why would you coat oranges with sugar and butter when they are juicy and sweet? And why would you cook spinach when it doesn’t taste grassy? Instead, embrace their raw state and toss them together in a salad. Pickled onions, goat cheese and candied almonds are optional finishing touches here, but they have a way of elevating the salad.

1 cara cara orange, peeled divided into sections

1 minneola orange, peeled and divided into sections

1 (5-ounce) Fifth Season baby spinach box

½ red onion, thinly sliced and pickled (recipe follows)

½ cup goat cheese

½ cup candied sliced almonds (recipe follows)

Peel the oranges and separate the segments. Remove the pith and skin from each segment. Set fruits aside.

On a serving platter, scatter the spinach leaves and pickled onion slices. Place the orange segments on top of them. Crumble the goat cheese between the segments and top the leaves with candied almonds.

Drizzle dressing, as desired, over the salad and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

— Arthi Subramaniam

Pickled Red Onion

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons water

¼ cup white vinegar

2 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, add onion slices. In a small bowl, mix water, vinegar, sugar and salt until sugar dissolves.

Pour the solution over onion slices. After 30 minutes remove slices and pat them dry on a paper towel before adding to salad.

Candied Almonds

2 tablespoons water

¼ cup sugar

⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup sliced almonds

Line a baking sheet with foil and spritz it with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, add water, sugar and cinnamon and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the sugar dissolves, add the almonds. Reduce heat to low. Stir frequently and allow the sugar to crystallize around the almond slices, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and pour the almonds on the prepared baking sheet. Using a fork separate the almonds and let them cool.

OJ Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a jar, combine olive oil and orange juice. Cover and shake vigorously. Then add mustard, salt and pepper. Cover again and give another vigorous shake.

First Published: February 10, 2021, 11:30 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (4)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Leah Fauth gets a hug after leaving flowers in front of the West York Police Department after a police officer was killed responding to a shooting Saturday at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa.
1
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
2
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
Elon Musk told federal workers Saturday that they must respond to an email by summarizing their accomplishments for the week, repeating a tactic he used to cull the workforce at his social media company.
3
news
Elon Musk gives all federal workers 48 hours to explain what they did last week
Pirates outfielder DJ Stewart gets congratulations from teammates after his home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the Grapefruit League season at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
4
sports
5 takeaways from Pirates' spring training victory over Orioles
Mike Lange’s family, coworkers, and friends stand on the ice during a memorial celebration of Lange’s career and life at the PPG Paints Arena before the Penguins take on the Washington Capitols on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. Mike passed away on the 19th and was a beloved play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Penguins for 46 years.
5
sports
Jason Mackey: Penguins hit all the right notes in honoring icon Mike Lange
Employees at Fifth Season, a vertical farm in Braddock, inspect spinach plants for defective leaves.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The co-founders of Fifth Season are Brac Webb, left, Austin Lawrence and Austin Webb, who also is the CEO.  (Tom O'Connor/Fifth Season)
Fifth Season sells four types of salad kits. Toasted Tuscan includes baby spinach and the other three salads have a blend of leafy greens.  (Tom O'Connor/Fifth Season)
An employee at Fifth Season checks the spinach leaves for their size. Uniformity is important for the vertical farm.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Employees at Fifth Season, a vertical farm in Braddock, inspect spinach for uniformity and defective leaves.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Fifth Season's Crunchy Sesame salad includes the farm's leafy greens blend, farro, sesame sticks, dried cranberries and ginger mandarin dressing.  (Matt Dayak/Fifth Season)
Orange spinach salad with pickled onions, sliced almonds and goat cheese.  (Emily Matthews/Post-Gazette)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST life
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story