Welcome to the Apogee Spirulina Farm, nestled at the base of New Mexico’s majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in the northern region of the state, right within the heart of Santa Fe. Basking in the abundant Santa Fe’s sunshine, which averages 300 days a year, means that we use very little energy other than the solar that comes from all this sunshine. It’s the perfect environment for spirulina, especially spirulina grown according to the French Method.

At Apogee, we use the French Artisan Method of spirulina cultivation. This French technique, which was learned from one of France’s premier artisanal spirulina farmers, differs in several key ways from large-scale commercial spirulina farms.

Our farms are smaller. They range anywhere from 100 square feet to a quarter acre. So if you can picture it, 100 square feet is about the size of a garage “big” enough for a single motorcycle. And a quarter acre would be 11,000 square feet—so a little bigger than what would fit inside a baseball diamond (home plate, first, second, third base and home plate).

This reduces water evaporation, which is critical in a high desert climate, where an outdoor farm would lose water almost immediately. The other key factor about greenhouse-raised spirulina is that it keeps the spirulina culture pure and uncontaminated. Having been raised inside a greenhouse means that Apogee spirulina will be free of dust and other contaminants that typically compromise outdoor spirulina farms—and some of those other contaminants on outdoor farms can also include herbicides and pesticides. Apogee spirulina is 100% pesticide and herbicide free.

We also harvest on an almost daily basis, and our spirulina sprinkles are air-dried in our solar oven. This process gives Apogee spirulina the highest nutritional levels possible.

Once it’s harvested, the  spirulina is either then pressed into what we like to call “spaghettis”—coiled strings of spirulina that gives the algae a larger surface area.

This larger surface area means that the spirulina has minimal nutritional loss, making for a higher quality product.

During the peak season of harvesting, we’re out there five days a week. The weekends, though, we let the ponds rest, in order for them to rejuvenate. This is also key to keeping the spirulina fresh and nutrient-rich.