King Tide Farms

This interview details King Tide Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Hamilton Horne, Owner of King Tide Farms.

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What is the origin story of King Tide Farms?

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I am a 3rd generation farmer so farming is in my blood. After college, I began working in the agricultural chemical industry in row crops. Here I learned what it takes to feed a nation and the logistics of it all. This is where my journey began but not until 2019 while I was in the Bahamas helping rebuild after Hurricane Dorian that I realized what my path would be.

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I have held every kind of sales position imaginable so I knew I was just looking for the right product to put my knowledge, skills, and abilities behind to make it a success. This is when I began looking into hydroponics farming and more specifically Controlled Environment Agriculture(CEA). We are located in Charleston, SC which provides long growing seasons but unfortunately, land close enough to cities to sustain a profitable business is just unaffordable.

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This is where CEA was the perfect fit for what we wanted to do and where we needed to do it. From there we began doing our due diligence which led us to the amazing team at Freight Farms. They offer 40’ shipping containers that have been converted into top-of-the-line hydroponic smart farms. I had no experience in hydroponics before this so I knew I needed a team behind me that could support my troubleshooting as I taught myself this new method. There have been some learning curves and setbacks but it has all helped shape what we have become today. 

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing King Tide Farms in the future?

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As it is today, we are facing some challenges that are good and others that have hurt us. The biggest challenge is obviously learning all of this for the first time. There have been several costly mistakes that could have been avoided with a little experience but once you learn those lessons that way you will not forget them next time. We would like to become more consistent and stable in our systems while expanding at a healthy pace. Another challenge we have had from the beginning is the scale of production. There is large start-up costs with these operations and expanding is just as expensive, so we need to be diligent in our plans for the next phase. 

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What is unique about King Tide Farms compared to competitors?

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King Tide Farms is a hydroponics smart farm that can offer custom produce depending on a chef’s needs for his menu or specific dish. Since we are CEA we can supply our produce year round. We do not use any insecticide, herbicide, or pesticide on any of our produce which in turn provides healthier and higher quality produce. Most produce spends 3-5 days in transit where it loses 60%+ of its water value which is where all the flavor and nutrients are located. Not to mention losing all that water content in transit is what drastically decreases the shelf life of all produce. We are located less than 4 miles from the epicenter of Charleston.

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This allows us to harvest our products and deliver them to our clients within hours, giving them a better-tasting and longer-lasting product. We specialize in artisanal lettuces, unique leaf greens, rare herbs, and all varieties of microgreens. Our flagship product and a large distinguishing factor is what we call our “Chef’s Cut” sized produce. This is going to be a 3” sized leaf or petite-sized product that is more manageable for the chefs to work with when trying to put the final touches on their dishes.

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We believe that everything on a plate has a purpose so we want our produce to taste just as amazing and beautiful as it looks but what really separates us from other farms is our service and the relationships we have with our chefs. In our market, we have a very competitive food and beverage industry, which in turn leads to a high demand for creativity and diversity amongst the restaurants. We begin our relationships with dialogue about what it is they are excited about and what ingredients they want to work with. From there we figure out what will pair well together and begin the growing process.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)? What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for King Tide Farms?

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I am the sole owner and operator at King Tide Farms. This June will mark the 2^nd anniversary of being in business. Currently, we work with about 15 different chefs and sell out every week. We are hoping to expand production this year and with that a full-time farm manager will be needed. 

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How can people connect with you or learn more about King Tide Farms?

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If more people are looking to connect or hear more about my operation please visit my website, Instagram, YouTube, or Freight Farms website.

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