The Farm at Jack’s Solar Garden

Onsite Research

We partner closely with University of Arizona researchers to meticulously record and analyze data—stay tuned for reports sharing initial findings!

Here’s a snapshot of the partners and research projects collaborating at Jack’s. SCF is managing all of the food production on site, including working closely with University of Arizona and managing their plot.

Here’s a snapshot of the partners and research projects collaborating at Jack’s. SCF is managing all of the food production and the majority of the site, including working closely with University of Arizona and managing their research farm plot.

The agrivoltaic farm at Jack’s Solar Garden was a highlighted stop on the AgriSolar Clearinghouse national “Follow the Sun” tour in 2022! Watch this video to learn more about Sprout City & partners’ work at Jack’s!

Trailblazing sustainable agriculture research under solar panels

At the Farm at Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont, Sprout City Farms operates the largest agrivoltaic (agriculture + photovoltaics) research site for vegetable production thus far in the United States!

Alongside research partners, SCF is innovating using multi-crop market-farming techniques within an elevated solar array, using the partial shade to protect tender greens from the scorching summer sun while still producing plenty of delicious sun-loving crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers!

By producing food in a life-sized obstacle course, we are solidifying methodologies and data collection with crops grown in the research farm plots. We work with research partners across the country to track the climate-resilient impacts of co-locating solar panels with vegetable production.

Research partners include:

We plan to share our findings widely so that more farms can adopt these practices and harvest both crops and the sun as sources of revenue.

Find our food!

Folks can enjoy the delicious fruits (er, vegetables) of our labor through:

  • joining the first and only solar-grown CSA program (sign up for 2025)

  • shopping at the Longmont Farmers Market Saturdays 8-1 from April through November

In the CSA and at the farmers market, SNAP participants receive half-price on produce! We also offer other food access programming to support Longmont families by distributing farm-fresh food at low or no cost in collaboration with local partners:

It looks like an ordinary field of solar panels, until you peek underneath to see what’s growing!

Timelapse of the solar array and field work: early July 2021. Many thanks to Chad Weber (http://cwebervideo.com)!