Urban Seed wants to prove growing is possible in the desert

LAS VEGAS - Last July, Urban Seed broke ground on its first farm, an assemblage of high-tech greenhouses located on a small plot of land smack in the center of Las Vegas. Eventually the space will hold six 6,500-square-foot greenhouses that will produce 25 different crops, from bell peppers to beets to alpine strawberries.

If an agriculture company launching in the desert sounds counterintuitive, that's entirely the point.

"The whole world thinks Vegas can't grow food," says Rachel Wenman, vice president of Urban Seed. "We really feel that if you can grow food in Las Vegas, then you can grow food anywhere."

Urban Seed will be the largest local farm in terms of yield, but isn't the first company to attempt farming in the desert.

An Australian farm made headlines last fall for growing produce using solar-powered greenhouses and seawater desalinated onsite. The Sahara Forest Project has constructed saltwater-cooled greenhouses in Qatar and is working on a new farm in Jordan. In Las Vegas, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has a one-acre outdoor research orchard, and Las Vegas Herbs grows hydroponic microgreens in a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse.

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