BONITA, Calif. — Paradise Found uses a type of farming called Vermiponics and Murals stacked four high. They can produce up to 110 pounds of leafy green vegetables a month. Ruth Jordan is the owner of Paradise Found in Bonita and the Worm Tea she's talking about is made from a worm composting system.
"The secret sauce is the Worm Tea that we make," Jordan said. "You're going to put in all your kitchen waste, it will take baked goods [and] you can put in meat as long as it hasn't been salted, and then literally you just close the door and let the worms do their thing."
The thing these worms excel at is eating a lot of organics.
"So, this will go through 20 - 25 lbs. of food waste a week and we have 8 banks. So, that's 200 pounds," Jordan explained.
That is the source of nutrients for all the lettuce, from seedlings to harvest. and it all happens at Paradise Found.
"So, when they're ready and we have space, these [seedlings] will be transferred into these nursery murals," Jordan said. "We percolate water twice a day through the system and it collects in the bottom there."
Then these plants go on a steady diet of nutrient-rich Worm Tea which comes from the worm casting.
"That tea is pumped through the channels, it gets sent through these emitters, drains into a pipe and then goes back to the reservoir... it's a closed system," Jordan said.
The quality of produce coming from Jordan has caught the eye of a Michelin Guide restaurant in Coronado.
Matt Sramek is the Executive Chef for Blue Bridge Hospitality and Little Frenchie. Quality is what Little Frenchie is all about and why they serve the lettuce Ruth grows.
"I can get on the phone with Ruth on Monday, and she'll be harvesting the next day, and the product will be in my kitchen within 24 hours," Sramek said. "If you don't have quality on the plate, you're serving subpar ingredients. If it is not fresh and it's frozen that shows in your presentation. It tastes better, it's more vibrant, it's crisper, it performs better overall."
Sramek said these are lettuces you've probably never heard of, "We'll have Freckled Romaine, Lola Rosa, Green Oak. She has tomatoes that she grows so you'll find those on the menu."
Paradise Found can also change with the seasons. Sramek said, "She has the ability to grow what we want, for example during the Fall we will have Sorel on the menu."
The produce goes from Paradise Found Farm in the morning to the menu at Little Frenchie in the afternoon where it shows that you don't have to sacrifice quality to help the environment.
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