Patrick Stoffer with the cultivation container
It is not commonplace for a student to live between the elderly in a care center. Together with five other students, Patrick Stoffer lives in Humanitas Living and Care Center. Stoffer studies Facility Management at the Saxion University in Deventer. In the context of this study, he was given the task of composing a dish consisting of local products. The fact that living in a care center helped him in carrying out this assignment, he could not imagine at the time.
Stoffer started to work. In the vicinity of Deventer, he was looking for local food producers to put together a dish. He also looked at the possibilities for a vegetable garden. "Producing close to home appealed to me. Questions were: how do I go about it, where are the local producers and, for example, can do I something with a vegetable garden? A disadvantage of a vegetable garden is that I would not have any production in winter, so I had to think about a greenhouse.”
Other ideas
During his search for local producers, Stoffer also came up with other ideas. "A few years ago, in Berlin, I learned about the cultivation of plants in a tunnel without daylight, which was also a form of urban horticulture." With that idea, he went to look for other possibilities and found the American company Freight Farms in Boston; They offer a so-called Leafy Green Machine: a recycled sea container of approximately 12 meters long, which is outfitted for vegetable cultivation with a climate and water dosing system, and LED lighting.
Cultivation container in the garden
Supply company Horticoop is the importer of the Leafy Green Machine for the Netherlands. Stoffer came into contact with the company in early 2016 and explored the possibilities. An important question was, of course apart from the question whether such a cultivation method would be (financially) feasible, where the 30 m2 shipping container could be placed. It ended up on the grounds of Humanitas Care Center. The Saxion student discussed the matter with the municipality of Deventer. The placing of the sea container met with few objections.
Patrick Stoffer also saw the social benefit of his idea for cultivation in the Leafy Green Machine. "It fits into the social debate on food. In addition, it is a fun way for the elderly in the care center to get acquainted with this cultivation and its products. It's not just that the elderly eat overcooked foods."
Growers with a story
Marinus Luiten of Horticoop is working on the further introduction of the cultivation container in Europe: "Patrick's initiative was for us a good way to see cultivation in practice. We are currently working on placing a Leafy Green Machine in The Hague at the urban cultivation project The New Farm. This will provide us with a place where we can carry out further research, arrange demonstrations and train interested people." As target groups for the Leafy Green machine Luiten sees individual growers, food service organizations and wholesalers in vegetables who want to do something extra. "For example, it's a way to distinguish yourself. In America we noticed that organizations that started working with the Leafy machine often had a story. It went beyond just cultivating and sometimes it also had a social function, such as the reintegration of war veterans."
Place at picking garden
The shipping container got its place at the care center. This means that since November 2016 there has been a cultivation area for leafy vegetables with up to 90% less water consumption and hardly any need for crop protection. The 256 vertical towers in the container make it possible to harvest more than a thousand heads of lettuce every week, with 15 to 20 hours of labor. Stoffer has signed a rental-purchase agreement with Horticoop. He pays the rent with the proceeds of his vegetable sales.
The seeds germinate under LED light
Germinated seeds in peat moss plugs
Towers in the container, the plants are left and right
The output goes beyond just lettuce. Stoffer is experimenting extensively with various vegetable crops, such as palm cabbage, Tuscan kale and cut beets in two varieties. He also works with paksoi, lamb’s lettuce, amsoy, turnip greens and rucola. The crops he propagates from seeds that he buys from vegetable seed companies. Once the plants are germinated in a peat moss plug, he places them in the cultivation towers. In each tower there is room for 17 plants.
After four weeks, the plants are harvestable. This does not always mean that the plants are removed completely. The lettuce varieties can be cut. Stoffer also make mixtures of varieties of lettuce types he sells packaged. He is also active in the care center's kitchen. A few times a week he prepares the lettuce to go with the meals. He also conducts demonstrations and explains his approach.
Experiences after half a year
Finally, the study assignment for Stoffer turned out differently. "In the end, I did not fully comply with my assignment, so the grade was not that high either." Meanwhile, besides his studies, he is very busy with his 'vertical farming'. Not only with the cultivation, but also with the search for sales possibilities. "I approach other nursing homes, caterers and restaurants to buy my products. Thereby establishing my own ‘Grow local’ company."
The cultivation of vegetables under these conditions is a learning process. Not only which kinds are suitable, but also the right way of harvesting, controlling climate conditions and matching the production. What is important, is working very hygienically to keep out pests and diseases. Also the right conditions for temperature, moisture and ventilation require the necessary attention. By the way, Stoffer has received training in cultivation in Boston at Freight Farms for some days. In addition, there is an active Facebook page of users who exchange information and assist each other in case of questions.
The Saxion student is building up his company. Investments for such a sea container are substantial, and amount to about € 95,000. With the hire-purchase arrangement, Stoffer is spreading the costs. On the yield side, it is still pioneering. In theory, an average monthly return of about € 4,000 should be achievable. Additional costs include energy, the seeds and the fertilizers. For the time being, Patrick Stoffer has enthusiastically dedicated himself to cultivation and marketing.
Source: Agroberichten Buitenland