Corner Greens Farm
Peachtree Corners, Georgia | EST. 2019
Farmer
Joan & Robert Flanders
No. of Farms
Three
Business Model
Online farmers market & local deliveries
Area served
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Main crops
Bright lights chard, kale, arugula, herbs, radish
Watch the full Grow Food Here episode on Corner Greens Farm here.
Corner Greens was an extremely successful Freight Farm; however, due to personal reasons, the Flanders have moved on to the next season of their life and have closed Corner Greens. We still feel that their story is inspirational and applicable for anyone looking to start a farming business.
About Corner Greens
At a time they both thought they would retire, Joan and Robert Flanders pursued a passion project that turned into their encore careers. The duo launched Corner Greens Farm in 2019 with one container farm and have since scaled to three. They grow a variety of lettuces, herbs, hearty greens, and root vegetables for their community and local businesses within Peachtree Corners, Georgia. While the Flanders never imagined becoming hydroponic farmers, they are thrilled they can provide local, fresh food to their neighbors and friends, and even enjoy some fresh produce themselves.
Photo Courtesy of Wil Kazary
“My main motivation for starting Corner Greens Farm was to give myself something more fulfilling than waiting at home for my college-aged kids to need me for something.”
Photo Courtesy of Wil Kazary
Controlling for Quality and Health
Rob and Joan have been living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle for many years, and after realizing the benefits of growing their own food in a raised bed garden they decided they wanted to be able to do it 365 days a year.
Controlled Environment Agriculture gives them complete control over what they are grow and how they grow it. Alongside their customers, they enjoy having access to produce grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides. They have attracted a loyal customer base that wants to know exactly where their food comes from and values high quality, nutritious produce.
“With us, growing in a controlled environment with no soil contaminants, not needing pesticides, not needing herbicides, what you get is a pure, fully nutritious produce.”
Vertical Farming in an Urbanizing Area
After living in the area for decades, Rob and Joan have witnessed first-hand the decrease in acreage availability for soil-based farmers due to an increase in the developing housing market. As a result of this, the community doesn’t have as much access to fresh, local food as they once did. They found that container farming was a great way to bring local farming back to the community without requiring much land at all. In under 1,000 square feet, Corner Greens Farm can grow the equivalent of almost 8 acres of traditional farmland on an annual basis. The best perk? Their local produce is available 365 days a year.
“Those farmers have gone away, so there’s a lot less of small-farmer produce available to the Atlanta area.”
Photo courtesy of Wil Kazary
Hydroponic Crops in High Demand
Over the past year of operating, Rob and Joan have experimented with a variety of crops and in the process stumbled across some favorites they’ve become passionate about.
Bright Lights Swiss Chard, a colorful hearty green, is Joan’s crop of choice. English Breakfast radishes (yes radishes!) became Rob’s fast favorite when he saw how well they grew and the high demand for them in the marketplace.
The produce they grow is top quality with a long shelf-life and keeps customers coming back for more every week.
“We planted one tower and put it on Local Line, where we sell, and within two days, they were gone! We were like radish - who knew?!”
Want to hear more from Corner Greens Farm?
View our full-length interview with Joan and Robert.
This year, we released the second installment of our Grow Food Here series, focusing on Greenery farmers who are doing amazing things all around the world! See all the ways Corner Greens Farm is changing the fresh-food scene in Georgia.
Explore Grow Food Here, Season 2
You can grow food anywhere using Freight Farms technology, and we’re going to prove it. Corner Greens is just one customer we’re profiling in the second installment of our Grow Food Here series, focusing on Greenery farmers who are doing amazing things all around the world! Check out the other exciting places we will be taking you!