Garret Fleming has grown his business from the ground up — quite literally.
While Charleston is used to the abundance of produce that comes from the state’s rural cities, his “farm” is in West Ashley and his crops grow up, not out. As owner of Ghost Grow 843, he has turned his West Ashley backyard into a tower garden of greens that grace the plates of some of the city’s finest restaurants.
The backyard farm has 30 towers with a capacity for 1,320 plants, which are fed by a small aquatic pump that pushes water to the top of the tower and uses gravity to rain down the nutrient water onto the plant roots. There are additional towers in his garage.
Fleming began the company after a stint in house and yard maintenance and then two years at the Bank of South Carolina in Charleston.
“I learned that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “My wife and I took a risk and went out to California where I could learn about hydroponics on a big scale. I worked for LA Urban Farms, and we’d have residential clients, schools, restaurants, movie studios.
“Every day, my life consisted of rolling around in a van filled with nutrients and seeds, going around to different areas of Los Angeles to do weekly maintenance on these tower gardens. It was so much fun! I got to meet Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Zooey Deschanel, Jessica Alba.”
The fun lasted until the pandemic shut down the beaches and parks that made Los Angeles so appealing to Fleming. Then, Fleming’s wife, Jessica, lost her job.
“We both just realized that we’d come out here to better our resumes and create value, and we’d accomplished that goal and had learned what we came out there to learn. We had such a great time in Charleston, and we were paying a premium on rent to live in LA. We wanted to start a family. It was just a no-brainer to go back to what we think of as home.”
A fresh start
Fleming and his wife moved to James Island in 2020, and then, later, to West Ashley.
Fleming soon started to work for Heron Farms, the company that produces Charleston Sea Beans. After two years, he decided to strike out on his own and start his own company.
He named the company Ghost Grow because his backyard was just a shadow of a “real” farm, much like how chefs just starting out cook in ghost kitchens that enable them to use unoccupied space. He said he stuck the numbers “843” at the end of the name to make sure people knew he was local to Charleston.
At first, Fleming said, he was just supplying lettuce to friends and neighbors, he said. His first client was Lowcountry Street Grocery, which purchased his lettuce. When his son was born six months ago, he realized it was time to get serious, quit Heron Farms for good, put together a business plan, and ramp up Ghost Grow 843.
Since then, Fleming has expanded to 30 three-foot-square towers in his yard, as well as microgreens in his garage, where he can control the temperature and lighting.
He now grows what he calls “regular” microgreens, such as arugula, broccoli, kale, beet, pea shoots and beets, among others; “specialty” microgreens such as cilantro, dill, green onions and Thai basil; and leafy greens such as arugula, spinach, and an assortment of lettuces.
Saving space
The advantage of the tower setup is that it takes 10 times less space than traditional, horizontal planting
“In a three-foot-square area, I might grow four lettuce heads. Instead, because of growing vertically, I’m growing 44,” he said.
In addition, unlike regular crop farms, the soil is easier to maintain and Fleming said it’s more sustainable.
“In a regular farm, some people have to dig through and reset the farm after harvest,” he said. “With these devices, you harvest, you use a pressure washer to clean them off, then replant and repeat. The plants are watered by a timer that tells the pumps when to turn on and off.
“The root base is being constantly misted with water, so not only are they receiving full oxygen when the watering stops, but then we’re able to harvest quicker and save up to 90% more water than in traditional soil, because you’re not watering the soil, you’re watering the roots directly. The water is recycled except for a tiny bit that’s lost to evaporation.”
The microgreens are watered daily via “bottom feeding,” a two-tray setup that allows water from the bottom tray to slowly be absorbed through holes in the top tray to the plants.
The space-saving is good, but what the chefs like is the taste. Fleming has 22 clients, including Husk, Herd Provisions, 167 Raw, Huriyali Gardens, Pink Bellies and chef Kevin Mitchell.
“With the microgreens, the taste profile is enhanced because it’s a younger part of the plant,” Fleming said. “In general they usually have a higher nutrient density, but what I’ve heard from chefs is that the leaves are a bit more tender, not as weathered.”
Fleming said the biggest challenge, even with the indoor plants, is getting the amount of water and nutrients figured out, since it can vary with season and temperature.
“I hand-water those microgreens every morning,” he said. “You have to know the precise amount because over-watering can cause major issues and, honestly, it’s just as bad as under-watering. It can cause mold.”
Fleming has made the watering a family affair.
“I wake up and feed my son, Carsten, and then we go into the garage and water the plants. I put him in a bounce chair and he watches me go from rack to rack. It’s a 30-minute process and sometimes, he’s not in the mood, and I have to stop. I’ve learned that if I’m working with him, it takes four times longer, but it’s worth it to spend time with him.”
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