The story of Loose Leaf Herbs, based in Missoula, Montana, begins thousands of miles away — in Germany, where owner John Thiebes spent the last decade farming and teaching agriculture. When John moved back to his home state, he quickly realized there was a gap in the market for fresh herbs.
“Going to the grocery store and looking for herbs was a nightmare,” said John. “The bunched herbs were good quality but shipped in from Mexico or Southern California. The clamshell herbs were a roulette table in terms of quality. The local products were good, but only seasonally available.”
John leaned in to his experience in Europe, where it’s common to sell living herbs in local markets – a small pot of basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, mint or thyme to keep in the kitchen, so you can pick what you need as you are cooking.
“If you want a good meal, you need good herbs, and good herbs come from the garden,” said John.
John decided to start Loose Leaf Herbs in the summer of 2025, focusing on organic indoor production. He reached out to Rimol Greenhouse Systems and began working with Western Sales Representative Kyra Smith to design a greenhouse that would fit his goals and local climate challenges.
“Kyra was awesome,” said John. “I told her the concept I was working with, that I wanted to be able to provide herbs 365 days a year. She figured out what I needed to accomplish that in the cold, less than ideal environment of Southwest Montana.”
John landed on a 30’ x 96’ Nor’Easter high tunnel, complete with polycarbonate ends, motorized roll-up sides, exhaust fans and shutters for ventilation, a heater with HAF fans, shade cloth, insect screening, and a Bartlett ClimateBoss controller to manage the greenhouse environment.
After ordering the greenhouse, John did the groundwork himself – leveling the site and putting down a crushed gravel pad. He then had a construction crew that came out and was able to build the high tunnel in just three days. Once his benches were built and electrical was complete, John was ready to get growing.
The greenhouse is currently filled with basil, thai basil, parsley, cilantro, dill and chives, with plans to begin growing oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage next. John blends his own potting soil, using a bacterial-fungal system to keep the soil active and allowing the plants to utilize nutrients quickly.
“This summer was a lot of fine-tuning protocols and everything that goes into running a complicated multi-crop greenhouse,” he explained. “We’ve finally gotten all the production systems ironed out, and we’re starting to build a presence here in this part of the state.”
As production has ramped up, John has found the automation offered by the ClimateBoss controller to be a significant asset. “I’ve run greenhouses where you just have roll-up sides, so you’re constantly stressing about temperature, air flow, and you just don’t really have a good grasp of what’s happening at all times," he said.
“Part of this for me was, how do I design a system that focuses not only on plant quality of life, but also my quality of life?"
"All the systems are connected, so it’s one less thing to think about. It’s a no brainer – the more automated you can become with things that don’t need human intervention, the better. It frees you up to focus on things that increase the value to customers, and to be free with your own time.”
