At Southern Organics, Stuart Raburn and his small but mighty staff grow Birmingham’s freshest supply of tilapia and all natural produce. How did this Birmingham entrepreneur maven shift from launching high-tech firms to high-end farming?
In the greenhouse, there’s an entire world of unheard of taste combinations to discover, including wasabi arugula—a crisp leafy green with flavors of wasabi and peppery arugula laced together with a perfect crunch. Then, a few rows over there are the greens with a distinct boiled peanut flavor. Past that, edible flowers—some spicy, some tasting just like cotton candy.
In the building two doors over, there are a dozen bright blue tanks, filled with hundreds of tilapia. Not just any tilapia though, these are ethically farmed Nile Tilapia, grown in-house and sold to Birmingham market the Red Pearl.
For pest control, they utilize the power of tiny but harmless insects Raburn referred to as “good bugs”. In the greenhouse, a certain strain of minnow is set out to combat other potentially crop harming issues. The farm is full of problem-solving solutions like these.