A Carbon County greenhouse facility is once again partnering with a Netherlands-based company to create more room to grow.

The contract between Little Leaf Farms and Dutch VB Greenhouses BV was signed in the presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Kingdom of the Netherlands during their recent visit to Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and first lady Lori Shapiro and other officials were on hand.

The proposed greenhouse in Banks Township will create the largest leafy greens indoor site in the world.

“There are four Little Leaf Farms greenhouses currently operating in the Banks Township area,” Paul Sellew, founder and chief executive officer of Little Leaf Farms, said of the 40-acre facility.

He noted that Little Leaf Farms has collaborated with the Dutch greenhouse company for over a decade.

“Since Little Leaf Farms was founded in 2015, we have partnered with VB to build our state-of-the-art greenhouses, enabling the company to sustainably grow the freshest, best-tasting leafy greens possible,” Sellew said.

Little Leaf Farms’ products include packaged baby crispy green leaf, baby red and green leaf, sweet baby butter leaf, sweet and crispy, baby spring mix and Romaine leaf.

“We have trusted VB as the industry and greenhouse technology have evolved, and we look forward to continuing our partnership,” Sellew said.

He said that the facility has the opportunity to expand even more in Carbon County.

“Little Leaf Farms has the option to build an additional 20 acres of greenhouse in the McAdoo Industrial Park (in Banks Township),” Sellew said.

He said that Little Leaf’s next greenhouse will open in Manchester, Tennessee, in the fall.

According to information from Little Leaf Farms’ website, the business grows its greens hydroponically, or without soil. It delivers water directly to the root system and wastes “close to no water” in the process, it said.

“Furthermore, we source our water from what falls on our roof. We collect 100% of the rain that falls on the greenhouse, sanitize it with UV lights and use that to water our leafy greens,” the company said. “Any excess water that the lettuce does not use, is recycled through our water filtration system and put back in the greenhouse.”