Fresh, locally grown and harvested lettuce and herbs will soon be available at the Embrun Co-op Independent grocery store in Embrun thanks to a "vertical agricultural container" on site.

DuJour is a new venture in the area and the container with the vertical agriculture can be seen in the Co-op parking lot on Notre Dame Street . Three varieties of lettuce are available this week and herbs will soon follow. The Co-op initiative is operated by Christine Martel and Loralie Ness.

The hydroponic growing operation planted its first seeds in early September and the first crop has just been picked. As Martel said it is picked on Wednesday, walked across the parking lot and on the store shelves by Wednesday night. This type of agriculture was pioneered in the far north where crops cannot be grown outdoors, according to Martel. Now the technology is moving to other parts of Canada.

Here is the interview with Martel: