INDIANAPOLIS – If you’d asked Mario Vitalis a few years ago where he expected to be in mid-2021, he probably wouldn’t have answered that he’d be growing produce hydroponically in two repurposed shipping containers. As he explained, though, sometimes you just must follow where life takes you.

“I didn’t plan on this,” Vitalis said. “Over time, things have panned out. It takes planning and having a vision. You have to go with the flow and see where it leads you.”

Vitalis created and owns New Age Provisions Farms. He grows items such as herbs, lettuce and other leafy greens vertically in two shipping containers in Indianapolis. The containers are 10 by 40 feet and are 10 feet tall. Hydroponic plants are those grown in nutrient-rich water with no soil.

His original plan for the land on which the containers now sit was to create modular homes out of some containers. After looking into the regulations regarding people living in shipping containers, he found it’s harder to make those containers ready for people than it is for plants.

“I did some research about using them for plants and I wanted to learn more,” he explained. “There was funding available for using shipping containers. I wrote a business plan.” He received his first container in August 2020 and his second in January 2021.

In the short time he’s been in business, Vitalis has received some attention from the print and broadcast media. “With the uniqueness of what I’m doing, people are curious. There aren’t a lot of African American farmers. They’re interested in the story of how I ended up doing this.”

Vitalis didn’t grow up on a farm. He was born in San Francisco and raised in Indianapolis. His family does have farming roots – his grandmother and her siblings grew up on a farm in the south. “Our history in on the farm,” he noted. “Doing this brings me back to those roots. My grandmother left the farm life and sought out a better life. That’s how they ended up in San Francisco. She always tells stories about growing up on the farm.”

A company called Freight Farms in Boston repurposed the containers for Vitalis. They installed vertical growing racks and provided training and an online database.

The containers are fully insulated and have a cooling system. There is no heating system as the LED lights generate heat. The temperature is kept at 60-65 degrees or 70-75 depending on what is being grown. Plants can be grown year-round.

He uses an app to control the temperature, humidity, lights and the amount of nutrients in the water. “This is a combination of farming and technology,” Vitalis said. “I can control the nitrogen, the phosphorous and potassium. There are two levels of knowledge. You have to learn how to operate the system and you need to know something about hydroponics.”

Since the plants grow inside in water, there’s no concern about contaminants from soil getting into them, he said. “I don’t have to worry about weather, pests, herbicides. It’s all grown totally inside a container. I don’t worry about heat; I don’t worry about the elements of nature.”

Vitalis said the containers do a great job growing leafy greens with a short root system such as lettuce, kale and arugula; they also grow herbs well. They struggle growing carrots, corn, potatoes, tomatoes and strawberries.

Each container is equal to 3.6 acres of a farm field, he said. “Hydroponics created farmers out of people who don’t feel comfortable out in a field. There are no acres to cultivate.”

Vitalis considers his produce to be organic though it hasn’t been certified. He plans to apply for organic certification in the future. His products are available through Hoosier Harvest Market, Market Wagon and his website, www.newageprovisions.com. He said he’s working to increase his restaurant clientele.

While Vitalis doesn’t have a farm background, he does have a master’s degree in business administration from Wayne State University in Detroit. He has two degrees from Purdue University – a bachelor’s in organizational leadership and supervision and an associates in industrial technology.

“Many farmers come from a background of farming and have to learn the business side. I had the business background and had to learn about farming. There’s a lot of appreciation for farming. It does take a skill.”

He offers tours of his container farm. “I want people to be exposed to this. If you see someone else who looks like you, you know it’s possible. That’s the exposure I feel good about. It’s a new way of farming. When I’m talking to people who don’t know about hydroponics, they have questions. They think it’s cool once I explain it to them.”

He welcomes the opportunity to talk about the benefits of growing hydroponically. “The produce is more nutritious. They’re not starved for nutrients. The greens are deeper, the colors more natural and the leaves are more tender. Overall, it’s a better-quality product. The arugula, for example, has a nice peppery taste. It’s not subtle.”