Meet FarmHer Karen Archiplay, who, along with her husband, owns “Archi’s Acres,” a certified organic greenhouse operation that utilizes hydroponic technology to grow organic produce in Escondido, California. In 2005, the couple purchased an acreage with 200 avocado trees and turned to farming, despite their lack of experience in agriculture. Faced with the challenge of rehabilitating groves, water costs, and water shortages they worked to turn their “water waster” into a “water saver.” Now, eight years later, they’ve added greenhouses and more produce crops resulting in Archi’s Acres becoming the first USDA certified hydro-organic farm in the country.
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Faced with getting the farm up and running and an enormous water bill in her first month there, the couple started doing some research on how they could take the farm they bought and turn it from a water waster, in a part of the country where water is precious, into a water saver. Without any preconceived notions (since neither of them had a history in agriculture) they started reading and came up with a plan for Archi’s Acres.