Aquatic Greens Farm is now Grow On at Ag Farm - same unique farm, same great team members and volunteers.
GrowOn
at
AG Farm
BRYAN,TX - Est 2013
OUR STORY
From one greenhouse to a growing mission
August 2013
First greenhouse
Started with 18,000 gallons of water and 1,560 sq ft of growing space — leeks, green onions, chard, kale, celery, herbs, and a few tomatoes.
May 2014
Second greenhouse
A similar system built to house a wide variety of head lettuces. Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) introduced to keep the system mosquito-free naturally.
April 2014
Third greenhouse
Built for trellised, fruiting plants — tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, and squash — grown in compost with drip irrigation.
Today
Grow On at AG Farm
The same family farm, now focused on providing meaningful work and community for adults with disabilities, in the greenhouses and in the commercial kitchens.
OUR MISSION
At Grow On at AG Farm, our mission is to work with adults with disabilities to build community, develop leadership, and encourage relationships. We provide fresh, organically grown produce while using environmentally friendly, sustainable growing practices. Our store (both in person and online) allows our volunteers to develop their creativity, customer service, and marketing skills with our other products that are created at the farm. We believe that everyone, regardless of their abilities, deserves the opportunity to stretch themselves and reach their full potential by offering them fulfilling and challenging work. In our work environment, we hope to inspire and motivate our team members to become more than anyone ever thought possible. Our goal is to meet and exceed the expectations of every customer.
​
Our motto:
WHERE CHALLENGE MEETS
OPPORTUNITY!
ABOUT THE OWNER
Sharon Wells, Owner and Founder
Sharon Wells and her husband, Pat, own the farm in Bryan, Texas. A former special-needs and elementary teacher, Sharon noticed the growing need for meaningful work opportunities for adults with disabilities — a conviction that, paired with a deep interest in nutrition and sustainable farming, led her and Pat to start their aquaponic system in 2013.
The farm has grown through several chapters — Aquatic Greens Farm, BCS Bountiful Baskets, Earth Galley Farms — before becoming Grow On at AG Farm, with a renewed focus on teaching and training adults with disabilities to work at the farm and in the commercial kitchens.
Sharon's vision: for the Bryan/College Station community to see what she's seen in every worker who spends time on the farm.
OUR TEAM
The people behind the farm
An ever increasing number of team members, one mascot (Dixie), Sharon, and a growing number of dedicated volunteers all make the farm what it is today. Every team member and volunteer here brings something different to the greenhouses, the kitchen, and the farm store.
WHAT WE DO AT THE FARM
IN THE GREENHOUSES
Growing and harvesting
Seeding trays, tending plants, checking the fish, cutting greens, washing and packing produce for the store. Work that has to be done right, on time, every week.
IN THE KITCHEN AND WORKSHOP
Making and preserving
Cooking jellies, syrups and butters. Steeping tinctures. Pouring candles, cutting soap, knotting blankets, glazing ceramics. Every item in the store was made by someone here or a friend of the farm.
IN THE STORE AND 2ND SATURDAY MARKET
Serving customers
Stocking shelves, pricing goods, packing orders to ship, and meeting the people who buy what they grew. Handling money, answering questions, and being proud of the answer when someone asks who made it.
AQUAPONICS - HOW WE GROW
No soil. No waste. Fish feed the plants.
A relatively new, completely soil-free, sustainable method of farming — a dynamic natural ecosystem built inside a man-made container. We're a local Bryan, Texas, farm committed to fresh, organically grown, non-GMO produce. Certified organic by CCOF in March 2014; we dropped formal certification in 2017 for cost reasons but still grow to organic specifications.​