UMass Dartmouth is taking the idea of greenhouse gardening and flipping it on its head – or, at the very least, on its side.

On Nov. 20, Boston-based company Freight Farms installed a 40-foot trailer on campus near the Frederick Douglass Unity House. The unassuming trailer, called The Leafy Green Machine, contains equipment capable of growing 1,000 heads of lettuce year-round. The user can control temperature, humidity levels and light from a touchpad.

The lettuce will be grown vertically. After seeds are started in peat moss, the seedlings will be transferred to piping that’s suspended from the ceiling. Red oak, green leaf and Romaine lettuce will be grown in batches of 250 at staggered times to ensure there will be produce growing continually.

The truck uses a hydroponics system, meaning that the plants will be grown without soil. Water is funneled through the pipes, supplying the plants with nutrients.

UMass Dartmouth Executive Chef Kevin Gibbons said he spent two days training at Freight Farms’ headquarters to learn about the new farm-to-table project. He said he’s had home vegetable gardens in the past, but never using a hydroponic system.

“Some of what they’re doing at their location is still in the beta stage. They’re experimenting with growing strawberries, sugar peas, radishes and kale,” said Gibbons.

Currently, it's possible to grow lettuces and herbs using the system.

He said the Leafy Green Machine fits into UMass’ aim to be more sustainable and serve its students with locally sourced foods.

Gibbons said much of the produce cooked on campus comes from local farmers. The relationship is two-fold. For instance, workers at Andy Pollock’s Silverbrook Farm feed the hundreds of chickens that reside there with melon rinds, carrot peels and pineapple stems that come from UMass.

While Gibbons and a sous chef will start the growing process, he's hoping students will get involved.

“There’s some interest with students on campus,” said Gibbons. “The campus has a culinary club, and we meet twice a week. I teach students how to cook. We learn about sustainability, where food comes from and how easy it is to make fresh food.”

Caroline Katsiroubas, a community manager at Freight Farms, said that UMass Dartmouth is the third college to have a Leafy Green Machine installed. The first two were Worcester State University and Stony Brook University in New York. She said a few more campuses are planning on installing a farm in the months ahead.

“They’re all joining for similar reasons,” said Katsiroubas. “It’s coming from two different places. Today, people have changing perceptions about food. And there’s a greater student demand for locally grown produce.”

She said that students are being taught how produce is grown and the impacts that agriculture has on the environment and their health. With that awareness, students are “driving change from the bottom up.”

“The institutional food service groups that serve campuses are responding to that demand,” she said.

The farm, including its installation and the seeds required to get started, costs a little more than $80,000. Katsiroubas said a big draw of the product is that, because it comes fully equipped, it takes less time to get started than a traditional garden project or building a greenhouse.

“We utilize vertical growing, so you’re able to maximize the cubic footage inside the container. With a greenhouse, you’re growing on the ground where there’s a lot of space that could be utilized,” she said.

Gibbons said that he plans to begin planting lettuce seeds before Thanksgiving.

“The farmers are going to come down and get us started,” said Gibbons. “We’ll be hooking the water, electricity and heat up. I’m going to start planting right away. We’re going to be harvesting fresh lettuce in January.”