Living Water Gardens is located on the outskirts of Wells, Minn., about 100 miles southwest of the Twin Cities. Three generations work together and handle the operation that grows 7,000 tomato plants and a variety of other vegetables in hot and humid greenhouses situated on roughly an acre of land. Like many of the producers that make their way onto Seward Co-op’s shelves, Living Water Gardens looks for opportunities to incorporate sustainable practices whenever possible. But the real difference is that they’ve traded in soil and earth for water and hydroponics. The water used at Living Water Gardens is the secret ingredient in the cultivation of their delicious produce. It tends to have high levels of iron, which cause frustration when they build up and clog the irrigation system, but it yields a tasty and nutrient-dense tomato.

The hydroponic process is quite involved and begins with starting seeds in rockwool, a fabric that promotes growth and decreases the spread of disease. Once the seeds bloom into healthy seedlings, they are moved from the nursery to the greenhouse, which provides ideally controlled growing conditions. To keep the greenhouses between 70–85F., old pallets are burned. Living Water Gardens partners with an organization that collects, bundles, and delivers pallets that would otherwise end up in a landfill. In the greenhouse, tomato plants are strung up on a single-string trellis system where they are able to reach their ideal “working height” and produce fruit from April­ to December.