First vegetables harvested in Antarctic greenhouse

While the temperatures in the Antarctic are slowly dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius and the sun only rises slightly above the horizon, plants in the EDEN-ISS experimental greenhouse are growing and thriving. After the first three weeks, Paul Zabel from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has harvested the first fruits in the icy environment. The yield was 3.6 kilograms of lettuce, 70 radishes and 18 cucumbers during this first harvest. The same techniques that now fill the plates of the overwintering researchers, can in the future supply astronauts on the moon or on Mars with fresh food.

DLR researcher Paul Zabel holds the first harvested Antarctic lettuce - Photo: DLR

"After sowing the seed in mid-February, I had to deal with some unexpected problems such as minor system failures and the strongest storm since more than a year," explains engineer and Antarctic grower Paul Zabel from the DLR Institute of Space Systems. “Luckily all problems were manageable and solvable.”

Radishes before the harvest - Photo: DLR

Project leader Daniel Schubert adds: "We have learned a lot about self-sufficient plant breeding in recent weeks, and it shows that the Antarctic is an ideal test field for our research." Meanwhile, all planned plants in the greenhouse are growing: radishes, various lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and spices (basil, parsley, chives and cilantro). "Only with the strawberries we have to be patient," says Schubert. "Here we are still waiting for successful sowing." In May, the DLR researchers expect the container greenhouse to be fully operational. Then, some four to five kilograms of fresh vegetables will be harvested every week.

Radishes and lettuce from the first harvest - Photo: DLR

Enrichment of the diet
At the Neumeyer Station III of the Alfred Wegener Institute there are currently ten people staying for the winter. Fresh vegetables from the last supply run - at the end of February - are all finished now, so the residents are happy about the fresh supplement on their plates. "It was something special to have the first fresh lettuce from the Antarctic in front of us," says station manager Bernhard Gropp. "It tasted as if we harvested it directly and fresh from a garden."

First Antarctic cucumbers - Photo: DLR

A healthy change for the Antarctic overwinterers - Photo: DLR

Paul Zabel currently spends about three to four hours a day nurturing and cultivating the plants in the greenhouse, which is about 400 meters away from the Neumayer Station III. At the same time he is mainly occupied with the examination of technical systems and typical gardening activities such as the pruning of plants. Meanwhile, he is in regular contact with the control center at the DLR Institute for Space Systems in Bremen, from where plant cultivation is monitored remotely. On particularly stormy days, such as March 21, Project Manager Daniel Schubert and his team - led by Matthew Bamsey and Conrad Zeidler - will monitor the greenhouse exclusively from Bremen, until Paul Zabel can reach it again. Interim periods like these are possible for up to three days.

For more information:
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