Hydroponic greenhouse operator Green Life Farms completed the optimization process of the former Finn Farms facility four months after acquiring the Punta Gorda facility. The 250,000-square-foot facility off State Road 31 grows 11 different herb varieties as well as butterhead lettuce and is configured to grow microgreens, baby leafy greens and other varieties.

After closing on Finn Farms in September, Green Life Farms, which also operates a greenhouse in Lake Worth, began work on more than 24 essential tasks for commercial operation. Improvements included testing all 12 hydroponic bays for functionality, outfitting the packaging area with new equipment, hiring and training staff and purchasing a new refrigerated delivery truck to ensure freshness from farm to table.

Hydroponic farming is the process of growing crops without soil. Soil is replaced with nutrient-rich, oxygenated water.

With the farm in full production, it sells products at more than 300 grocery stores, specialty markets and restaurants across the state, nationally and internationally. In addition, Green Life Farms has a contract with a major meal-kit provider to sell herbs and leafy greens. Other product offerings include basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, oregano, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, baby romaine, baby arugula, baby kale and baby spinach.

The company, which seeks to combine technology with agricultural best practices, has 11 additional facilities in construction or development for a total of 5.2 million square feet of greenhouses planned.

Green Life Farms added Farmer Joe’s, a new 55,000-square-foot market in Cape Coral, to its list of retail partners. Farmer Joe’s is the first location in the state to carry all of Green Life Farms’ herb varieties, along with its baby leafy greens and butterhead lettuce in its 13,000-square-foot produce section.