Vertical farm ‘Beanstalk’ opens in the Town of Herndon

At area Harris Teeter locations, leafy greens, herbs and vegetables trace their roots to Beanstalk, a new vertical farm in the Town of Herndon.

Local and state officials — including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin — will  gather on Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. to celebrate the grand opening of the farm, which uses hydroponic technology — which is soil-less — and heirloom seeds to grow its products. The farm is located at 251 Exchange Place.

“Their headquarters will also breathe new life into an empty space in the heart of Herndon. Beanstalk is a member of the Made in Fairfax network, which connects local small production manufacturers to networking groups, marketing opportunities and potential customers,” according to the county.

Beanstalk did not return multiple requests for comment from FFXnow.

The business also sells its items to Harris Teeter locations and on-site. Visitors can also tour a research facility on the site of the farm by seeing the growing process in action.

Beanstalk Farms received a $100,000 grant from the governor’s agriculture and forestry industries development fund. The county matched the state contribution to help expand the farming company. It plans to invest over $2 million in the area and create 29 new jobs as part of its relocates it headquarters to a formerly vacant data center in Herndon.

Brothers Jack and Michael Ross founded the company to produce food four times as efficiently as traditional hydroponic farming. The brothers first opened their 3,000-square-foot facility in Springfield in 2018.