Commercial urban farm Lufa Farms is launching a second, larger operation this week in Laval. Located on top of building that also houses a furniture retailer and other commercial tenants, the new greenhouse measures 43,000 square feet. Currently, the company harvests 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of food daily and delivers more than 2,500 baskets of produce per week to drop-off points all over the metropolitan area year-round, with the new farm boosting overall production to an extra 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of food per day. Basic baskets start at $30 per week.
Built in conjunction with the developer Groupe Montoni and Dutch greenhouse manufacturer KUBO, this latest greenhouse is made to be structurally lighter than the first, employing a "positive pressure" system which allows it to keep out insects and produce 30 percent more food per square meter than Lufa Farms' previous greenhouse, and with less energy inputs. In this second operation, the focus will be on tomatoes and eggplants -- veggies that are in high demand and require more particular conditions.
Pictures courtesy of Lufa Farms
Similar to the first greenhouse, the second development uses a hydroponic system to produce vegetables, grown using coconut fiber bags, a lightweight substrate and nutrient-rich fluid, and is irrigated with water that is captured, filtered and recirculated for re-use. The greenhouse is heated with a natural gas system at night, in addition with shade curtains for heat retention, but its location on top of a heated building means that it needs only half of the energy per square foot to grow food compared to a conventional farm on the ground, and without the use of pesticides and herbicides.
Founder Mohamed Hage spoke with TreeHugger.com about Lufa Farms' vision of sustainable urban farming where the cost of food and the technology required to grow it will be lowered and more easily implemented. Click here for the complete article at treehugger.com.
Source: treehugger.com







Announcements
Job Offers
- Packing Supervisor
- Head Grower Greenhouse Canada
- Post Entry Quarantine Facility Manager
- Economic Policy Officer Agri-Tech Kentucky
- Licensing Manager North America
- Junior Sales Executive
- Fruit Breeder/Trait Discovery Scientist
- General Manager
- Regional Sales Manager – DACH Region
- Country Manager – Italy
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 -yesterday
- Picture time! Recap of IPM 2023
- "Ultrapure peroxide leads to lower plant mortality and increased disease control"
- Pure Flavor brings on industry veteran Joe Sbrocchi
- CAN (ON): University of Guelph research makes growing greenhouse industry more efficient
- Combatting ToBRFV with new varieties Ferreira and Novero
Top 5 -last week
- Combining vertical farming and greenhouse horticulture to decentralize lettuce production
- Fresh produce chain hit by Lakeside Produce’s bankruptcy
- Positive vibes on the first day of IPM '23
- Growy acquires assets and team of Kalera International (&ever)
- CAN: Land Betterment acquires 50% ownership in greenhouse operations
Top 5 -last month
- How farmers are cutting out supermarkets
- Combining vertical farming and greenhouse horticulture to decentralize lettuce production
- Higher light transmission and lower heat demand with double foil greenhouse
- Fresh produce chain hit by Lakeside Produce’s bankruptcy
- 30MHz declared bankrupt, curator 'optimistic about restart'
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2023-01-27 Japan: Lemons defy the cold in 'Snow Country' greenhouses
- 2023-01-26 Can cucumbers save a cannabis company?
- 2023-01-25 US (PA): Peach Hill Orchard invests in new hydroponic farming greenhouse for lettuce and tomato growing
- 2023-01-25 Combining vertical farming and greenhouse horticulture to decentralize lettuce production
- 2023-01-20 Palestinian farmer grows strawberries under water scarcity
- 2023-01-19 India: Grower moves to sustainable cultivation and reaps success
- 2023-01-17 Latvia: First greenhouse to grow cucumbers under LEDs uses landfill waste to produce energy
- 2023-01-16 Get in shape: Wittenberg Gemüse organizes greenhouse run
- 2023-01-16 India: Growing strawberries, oyster mushrooms and other exotic vegetables in arid Jodhpur
- 2023-01-16 US (WA) : Food coop donates $100,000 to Viva Farms
- 2023-01-12 Paving the way for sustainable greenhouse cultivation in China
- 2023-01-12 Conventional and organic: greenhouse grower does it all
- 2023-01-11 A Palestinian engineer-turned-farmer excels in innovative agriculture in besieged gaza
- 2023-01-10 US (NV): Small family farm in Moapa meets high demand
- 2023-01-10 “It’s always good to learn new things. The way we grow has changed quite a lot over the years.”
- 2023-01-09 Cucumbers in Bulgaria are getting the spa treatment
- 2023-01-06 Tinkerbell and Tomberry godfather retires
- 2023-01-06 How farmers are cutting out supermarkets
- 2023-01-06 Meet the Croatian tomato variety grower in England
- 2023-01-03 Inside a greenhouse on the rooftop of a Whole Foods