Celia and Elton Koehn, the dedicated local farming duo of Greens For You in Arthur, IL, have been growing fresh local romaine, butterhead lettuce, and other salad greens for Common Ground Food Co-op for more than seven years straight without missing one weekly delivery! They are so hardworking and we are proud to boast that we received their first ever delivery when they were just beginning their venture and they’ve been a staple local farm in our produce section ever since.
Even through cold winters, the Koehns grow hydroponic greens that fill their two greenhouses to the brim with thousands of lettuce plants. The heads of lettuce are so lush and well cared for that they truly look like a sea of bouquets when stepping into the warm greenhouse. Staggering the growth of their greens ensures timely weekly harvests, so they plant each week to maintain their harvest schedules.
Each row of lettuce is set up with access to water, nutrients, and is synced up on a hydraulic table system invented and built by Elton himself that scoots the individual rows of greens forward with a press of a button. This ingenious invention saves them man
ual labor of shuffling every row of greens by hand and allows them to expand lettuce production to support larger orders for the Co-op as well as Illinois State University cafeterias. You can find Greens For You head lettuce and salad mixes in our produce section every day of the week. We are happy to support such wonderful farmers and look forward to supporting Celia and Elton in the years to come.
