This story is one in an ongoing series of profiles on vendors at the Durango Farmers Market.By Mia Rupani
Herald Staff Writer
Peak Season Farms in Hesperus takes a unique approach to growing produce all year long.
Owner Wendy Wyatt said their vegetables are all organic, and grown indoors in a vertical hydroponic system.
“We grow all winter and deliver fresh greens to Durango once a week,” she said. “Each of our towers are equal to two acres of farmland.”
The farm will celebrate its one-year anniversary in November, and has ambitious plans for its future.
“We had solar panels put on a month ago, and we are trying to get the farm completely off the grid,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt said she was inspired to start the farm with her husband after a local restaurateur complained about being delivered old produce.
“A restaurant owner in town said the vegetables he was receiving were two to three weeks old, and that’s when the light bulb went off,” she said.
Now, Peak Season Farms grows for six different restaurants in Durango.
“We grow a lot of Zia Taqueria’s stuff,” she said.
Peak Season Farms and Wyatt are also a familiar face at the Durango Farmers Market.
Wyatt said their wasabi arugula is a big seller, as well as other greens.
“We sell a lot of baby kale because we harvest it weekly,” she said.
For Wyatt, the biggest challenge is finding new produce to grow on the farm.
“Figuring out the best and most unique things we can grow can be difficult,” she said.
mrupani@durangoherald.com
