CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Spira Farms, located in a southwest suburban basement, was started this year by 28-year-old Chris Borek in his parents Orland Park home.
"It started because I have a passion for energy. I want to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions that are going out into the world. So, to scale that up, that idea, I started growing my own food," Borek said.
He grows and sells by subscription and at farmers markets microgreens of broccoli, peas, radishes, basil, cilantro and more with tiny leaves and stems.
"Microgreens are a food, basically it is a younger version of the crop. They're about 10 days old version of the crop and has very high density. What you'll find is that, due to the density and the age, it's up to 40 times more nutritious than the adult version of the plant. There's a lot of anti-inflammatory properties and all kinds of goodies that come along with it depending on what kind of plant you're eating," Borek said.
Spira Farms sits on rows of storage shelves - small trays of plants with LED lights over them.
Chris Borek grows and sells by subscription and at farmers markets microgreens of broccoli, peas, radishes, basil, cilantro and more with tiny leaves and stems.WBBM Newsradio/Bernie Tafoya
"The benefits of growing inside is I save significant amounts of water. I pump water in from below and any water that's unused will be recycled right back into the tank I have," Borek said.
Borek hopes to eventually be fully sustainable with solar power and to have a vertical farm that could serve the entire Chicago area.
