Hi-Tech Greenhouse In Wall To Grow New Converts To Farming

WALL, NJ — A new state-of-the-art greenhouse is set to open soon at Allaire Community Farm in Wall, and it will become a centerpiece for programs that bring the farming experience to students, special needs young adults and others.

Executive Director Jo Ann Burney is beyond excited about the durable, polycarbonate greenhouse.

There are two other greenhouses on the property, but they are a stretched plastic that can't be as easily heated or used all year, she said.

But the new solid enclosure will allow for year-round farming and agricultural demonstrations, with more energy efficient climate control, Burney said.

"It can be 70 degrees year round. We can grow tomatoes all year," she said, anticipating the projects ahead.

A ribbon-cutting with Monmouth County officials is planned for May 9. The greenhouse came about from a county Community Development Block Grant of $112,000 awarded before COVID hit, Burney said.

With COVID restrictions and the difficulty of getting materials and workers, it has taken until now for the greenhouse to become a reality, she said.

But now the farm is ready to go full steam ahead. "This will take us to the next level," Burney said.

She and her husband Sean Burney, CEO and founder, own the farm.

Allaire Community Farm is a nonprofit organization offering programs for rescued animals, special needs adults, at-risk teenagers, veterans and those suffering from PTSD, and families facing cancer, among other programs, Burney said.

With the greenhouse, there are existing community programs that can be expanded.

One, for example, is called "HOPE," Harvesting Occupational and Personal Excellence.

At the HOPE Program, the farm gives individualized support to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities as interns on the farm. The program is geared to young adults who have "aged out" of school programs.

A big plus of the HOPE program is that it trains the young people age 21 and over in agricultural and horticultural skills they can use for meaningful jobs, Burney said. They can get jobs either at the farm or in other similar settings. There are jobs such as animal care, working in a farm market, gardening or creating and assembling farm products.

The program was developed by a special education teacher and a speech language pathologist, and New Jersey certified special education teachers develop and individualize teaching plans based on a participant's goals.

Then there is a high school program called "GAIN," Growing Academically In Nature, that exposes high school students to agriculture - again with work-based learning experience. Students participating in this work-based learning must meet certain criteria to participate, and it is offered in conjunction with the HOPE program.

There is another program at the farm that brings middle school students from varied social settings together to learn about different cultures.

Its intriguing name is "SUSHI," which stands for Suburban and Urban School Health Initiative.

In conjunction with the county, the SUSHI program educates area fourth- and fifth-grade students about where their food comes from, as well as promoting healthy eating in a farm setting, Burney says.

They learn about the growing process from seed to harvest. Students plant their own crops, care for them each week, and harvest them when ready. This program allows students to gain hands-on gardening instruction that often incorporates other subjects such as science, math and health. she said.

Apart from that, there is social education.

Burney said the program pairs students from two different types of districts - such as Colts Neck and Asbury Park - to interact with each other.

"It brings communities together that would not usually interact," Burney said.

In one pairing of Spring Lake Heights and Neptune City students, Hispanic students in Neptune City introduced the other students to squeezing lemon on their salad, rather than using salad dressing, Burney said.

And while all this education takes place in the front of the new greenhouse, the back is devoted to developing a variety of agricultural methods to produce foods.

For example, aeroponic, hydroponic and aquaponic growing methods will be used in cultivating crops.

“We want to show our guests every type of growing medium," said Sean Burney.

He explained the different methods:

• Hydroponic, growing in water.
• Aeroponic, growing vertically with water.
• Aquaponic, using live fish in the tank to fertilize the plants. The plants clean the water for the fish.
• Beto, a system of growing in water and vermiculite with buckets fed from a central nutrient water tank, ideal for greenhouse growth of tomatoes and cucumbers.
• Traditional growing in soil.

"The various mediums will hopefully pique people's interest in farming - and they will eventually seek a career in agriculture,” Sean Burney said.

As the motto of Allaire Community Farm declares, "Nurture Through Nature" is its mission.

There are many volunteers and supporters who make lots of programs possible, such as holiday lights events for families with members on the autism spectrum. There are animal-based programs that help veterans or others who may be suffering from PTSD.

The expanded greenhouse just means more people and more engagement, Jo Ann Burney says.

"The more the merrier. We want the community to be involved," she said.