Farm Practices
SOLAR-POWERED
We generate electricity for our farm with a huge roof-top solar array on our farm’s roof.
HighEST-Quality
Using the latest state-of-the-art grow practices we can ensure the highest-quality crops.
LOW WATER CONSUMPTION
We utilise low water use best farming practices to minimise water wastage.
MODERN FARMING
INDOOR URBAN FARMING
Urban or Vertical farms produce fresh food in urban areas in controlled growing environments. Urban farming is gaining popularity because it permits growing food closer to the customer. Urban farming reduces the environmental cost of transport and the time to shelf, meaning fresher produce for the consumer. Urban farming permits growing fresh produce in many locations, such as building rooftops, shipping containers or empty warehouses.
But how can plants grow in an empty warehouse? It is now possible to grow fresh produce without sunlight due to advances in LED lighting technology. Besides reduced transport distance, the other advantages to growing in an enclosed environment are:
- Significant water savings of up to 95%.
- Growing without pesticides.
- Consistent supply of fresh, high-quality micro salads without weather events affecting our crop.
The downside is the high use of electricity and the steep initial setup costs.
At Yarra Valley Herbs we engineered our own urban farm system. Our objective was to design a system with the flexibility to grow different crops. Not just microgreen salads but also other types of fruits and flowers. We trialled urban farming systems for over three years before settling on our final cost, water & energy-efficient design. We can quickly scale our unique urban farming system to meet increased customer demand.
We are proud to say that our urban farm has proven to produce quality efficiently. We haven’t stopped innovating; our future development plans include additional automation and expanding our range with new fresh produce lines.
CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
UNDERCOVER FARMING
Undercover farming is widely used worldwide to protect crops from adverse weather conditions and pests.
At Yarra Valley Herbs we use a state-of-the-art glasshouse to produce our edible flowers & other specialty crops. These crops require high light intensities that LEDs can’t produce efficiently. Our computer-controlled glasshouse creates an optimum climate for our plants at all times, automatically controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, sunlight, CO2 and irrigation.
By precisely controlling the environment in our greenhouse, our plants enjoy near-perfect grow conditions and produce abundant crops of the highest-quality edible flowers.
FARMING PRACTICES
SOLAR-POWERED URBAN FARMING
Urban farming has many significant advantages. By growing in a controlled indoor environment, we eliminate the use of harmful pesticides to protect the crop against pests and use around 95% less water. However, plants need light to photosynthesise and grow.
So, we fitted solar panels to our roof to minimise our environmental impact from powering the LED lighting.
Our rooftop solar array powers our entire urban farming system, greenhouse, packing rooms, and office. We export the excess energy we generate to the grid to power nearby homes and businesses.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
WE RECYCLE OUR GROWING SOIL
Growing in a clean environment is essential to the quality of our microgreens. We start with a fresh batch of clean soil each time we seed. After harvesting each batch of microgreens, we are left with nutrient-rich soil.
To ensure this beautiful soil doesn’t go to waste, we have partnered with Burleigh Flowers. They steam the soil to break down any organics from our microgreen production and use it to grow beautiful cut flowers!
We believe that pre-cut microgreens are a more sustainable option than microgreen pots. Chefs get left with pots full of nutrient & organic-rich soil that go into the bin when microgreen pots are used up. Consider how much beautiful soil goes to waste every week.
We are constantly looking at ways of reducing our waste.
FARMING PRACTICES
LED LIGHTING HEAT WASTE
LED grow lights are the best option in urban farming because of their high efficiency. However, they produce some heat during operation. Usually, this waste heat warms up the grow room. When the grow room gets too warm, refrigeration systems or fans vent excess heat to maintain the optimum plant temperature zone.
Our urban farming grow rooms are located next to our glasshouse where we grow our edible flowers. Once our urban farming rooms are up to the ideal temperature, we automatically send excess heat into the glasshouse.
This surplus heat helps to maintain the perfect growing conditions in the greenhouse and allows the growth of our edible flowers in winter. It’s a perfect arrangement where excess energy is utilised rather than wasted.
