US (CA): No backgound in agriculture and harvesting 300,000 heads of lettuce per month

Pierre Sleiman, CEO of Go Green Agriculture, has transformed an ordinary greenhouse into a hydroponic farm. "What hydroponics does is allows, literally, only what the plant absorbs is what is actually used," Sleiman told 10News. "Hydroponic farming allows us to use about 80 percent less water than a conventional farm would."

With less resources and far less overhead as a typical farm, Sleiman has been able to get into the $5.1 billion industry that farming does in San Diego alone each year. His hydroponic farm grows spinach, kale and butter lettuce, which are harvested in a controlled environment and shipped to local stores and restaurants with their roots still in tact, according to the news station.

His three-acre farm, located at 495 Saxony Road, produces about 300,000 heads per month, and because his crops are grown in specially-designed trays, and use no soil, they can be grown any time of year.

Sleiman, who began the farm about four years ago, previously had no background in agriculture, graduating from college with a computer science degree. It's that knowledge that he's put into developing a system allowing one to remotely control the conditions of the farm from anywhere. "The nutrients, the environment is all controlled from one basic place," Sleiman told 10 News.

In January, Sleiman was named one of San Diego Magazine's "50 People to Watch."

Source: patch.com