HealthLinks Charleston March/April 2023

28 | www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com King Tide Farms eschews a fuel surcharge since the transport distances are often just a few miles. “They get charged more because of transit or these supply chain costs. My thoughts on that are, well, we could break that chain. Forge a new one,” he said. That’s just what he is doing. Planting, growing, harvesting and delivering his produce is a single-handed endeavor right now. Horne’s 18 hours a day, seven days a week growing cycle allows him to provide just-harvested produce to chefs in the immediate area, and 100% of those nutrient-packed greens are useable. “You don’t have a chef throwing away half their delivery because it’s gone bad,” he said. This quick growing cycle enables Horne, and thereby Charleston’s local chefs, to experiment with a variety of nearly customizable greens as well. Horne gets to grow “cooler” greens he likes to call a “chef’s cut.” The rich leaves are a smaller, bite-sized, more manageable leaf. They’re beautiful as well, which is an important consideration as, Horne earnestly said “. . . because we eat with our eyes, too.” King Tide’s produce comes in a variety of sizes, flavors and colors. Wasabi arugula, citrus, Thai and opal basil and a mind-boggling array of lettuces are all on King Tide’s menu. King Tide grows anti-inflammatory microgreens – which have three to four times the nutritional value of adult plants – radish, borage and King Tide’s “young uns” onions. Horne’s creativity and the efficiency of his farm provide his clients with endless options. Horne’s driven and rebellious spirit enjoys the idea that hyperlocal logistics might put a ding in the monopoly that certain regions hold over a majority of our nation’s produce. “Why should the whole country suffer a lettuce shortage because Texas had a bad frost?” he laughed. Getting serious for a moment, Horne freely admitted that hydroponic smart farming can’t replace traditional farming, nor does he think it should. “First of all, we’re all growing vegetables. My system doesn’t make for problem-free farming. All I’ve done is create a new set of problems. This can never replace traditional agriculture, but it can complement it. I mean, my personal target market is a 50-person restaurant. I can’t do more than that. I can’t feed the number of people till farmers feed.” “We need each other,” he continued. “I’m a big fan of farmers. As a matter of fact, I think they need to benefit a little more from Charleston’s tourism. After all – no farmers, no restaurants.” He is eager to cooperate with traditional farmers who might lose seedlings to inclement weather. “When there was a frost that recently hit, I had 16 trays of 288 seedlings growing at all times in the nursery. Man, let me know if I can get seedlings to you. I’m not getting bitten by this frost, and I’ll dig in to help a till farmer. We’re all in this together.” Horne is open to mentoring or being a resource for others who would like to create their own farm. “I love being transparent about what we can and can’t do through hydroponic farming, and I’m happy to share all of my defeats and successes during the learning process,” he said. To learn more, visit kingtidefarmschs.com. This quick growing cycle enables Horne, and thereby Charleston’s local chefs, to experiment with a variety of nearly customizable greens. Photo by Nicholas Skylar.

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