We chose Detroit for a reason.
Not because it was easy, but because it was right.
Detroit is a city that understands grit. It knows how to rebuild, reimagine, and redefine itself. It’s the city that put the world on wheels, that turned music into movements, and, now, is turning concrete into green. When we imagined Planted Detroit, we wanted to do more than just grow food. We wanted to move forward. We hoped to help rewrite what food systems could look like in cities, and Detroit had the land, the people, and the purpose.
Here, growing food means something. It honors the city's past while planting seeds for a more resilient future. It means standing shoulder to shoulder with a community that has always had faith regarding second chances, has had faith in innovation, and continues to believe in forward motion, regardless of the market and environmental challenges ahead.
So, we planted our roots here. Since then, we have only grown.
From Concrete to Green: Why Detroit?
Detroit is more than just a space to grow. It is one of the reasons we grow.
Long before Planted Detroit was created, we were inspired by the energy of the city. It has a slow-moving, deep-rooted momentum that comes from a long history of recreating itself. Where some saw despair, we saw possibilities. Vacant lots and abandoned buildings did not represent a wasteland; they were a blank canvas. Detroit was already on its way to becoming something else- it was just a matter of getting on that dreamboat.
Urban farming has become central to the Detroit story. With over 20 square miles of abandoned or unused land, the city has more urban farming potential than any other metropolitan area. More than this, we noticed that Detroiters carried a generational knowledge of self-sufficiency. This is not new to them; growing, gardening, and making food are part of the cultural lineage of Detroit.
Urban farming in Detroit represents more than just another pocket of green space. It signifies the re-emergence of food justice, economic sovereignty, and connective tissue in the community. It reminds us that even the hardest-hit areas can become fertile again.
We did not want to just farm. We wanted to reimagine the definition of farming. Clean, local, year-round, and set in a major city! Detroit was able to provide the soil and the soul.
The Birth of Planted Detroit
Planted Detroit entered the scene with a refreshingly radical approach: producing fresh, clean food closer to the people who eat that food.
Our founders were up against an important question that has become even more pressing: how can we create a sustainable, safe, and efficient method of growing food in our cities? The answer was not the increase of trucks or the extension of supply chains; it was developing farms in our urban spaces.
Our intention from day one was to be much more than a farm; to be a food-tech company, a community partner, and a model of how innovation could support nutrition. Our vertical farm was built to be world-class: zero pesticides, zero soil, and zero runoff. Just perfectly grown greens, every day of the year.
Eventually, Planted Detroit has grown into the largest vertical farm in Michigan. Size is not our metric for success; impact is.
We grow hyper-local produce that never has to travel more than a few miles from harvest to plate. We grow for taste, we grow for nutrition, but most importantly, we grow for community. All this while being deeply committed to sustainability, transparency, and trust.
Building a Vertical Farm in the Motor City
Establishing a vertical farm in Detroit is more than simply piling plants on top of each other. Ultimately, it is about stacking solutions.
Our hydroponic system uses no soil, utilizes 90% less water than conventional farming, and gives us the ability to grow high-quality, consistent greens in an entirely controlled environment. Our LED light stacks simulate sunlight, weather, and advanced climate systems maintain ideal growing conditions, no matter what Michigan's weather throws at us.
This is farming, an alternative version. Vertical, efficient, data-driven. Each head of lettuce we produce is proof of sustainable technology.
For us, it is not just about growing food; it is about showing that cities like Detroit can certainly be centers of food security and green innovation.
Growing Food, Growing Community
We think food is community. When food grows in Detroit, it means growing with Detroit.
Through our partnerships with local chefs, nonprofits, schools, and markets that contribute to our community, we create jobs within Detroit zip codes, help build education programs to connect kids with clean, fresh foods, and celebrate being part of a movement from the roots.
We partner with chefs who embrace the flavors of Detroit, and we facilitate public access to all our greens through Market Wagon Detroit, delivering fresh greens weekly to everyone in Detroit. Our greens not only provide food, they create connections.
Our urban farming community here is collaborative, passionate, and committed. We are not just growing food; we are growing an opportunity.
What Growing in Detroit Has Taught Us
Detroit has taught us that resilience is a muscle, and this city knows how to flex.
Building a vertical farm in an old industrial city is not without its challenges: the cold winters, education around hydroponics, and distribution. Through it all, the feedback and support of community members and their sense of purpose gave us the strength to persevere.
Every bundle purchased, every school tour, and every collaboration with chefs confirmed we were moving in the right direction.
What is next? Growth. Expanding educational outreach. A larger role in the food future of Detroit. We’re just getting started.
Because when you grow in Detroit, you grow strong.
Take a Tour, Stay for a Bite
Curious to know where your greens come from?
Book a tour now and taste our tower produce fresh, and get an inside glimpse of Planted Detroit’s vertical farm. You can find our bundles online and in stores, featuring seasonal greens harvested and delivered to you within 24 hours.