Southern Fresh has a legacy for innovation and we are proud to announce our biggest innovation to date. Our brand new, high-tech, 20,000m2 indoor farm – one of the biggest of its kind!
It’s been a goal of ours for many years to feed New Zealanders restaurant-quality, world-class gourmet produce through our partnership with the food supply industry. After years of research and investment, we decided on building a state-of-the-art indoor farm to grow our greens hydroponically and we’re seeing the benefits of that decision. This year demonstrated the importance of being self-sufficient, weather independent, and being able to ensure consistent supply.
How the indoor farm works
Hydroponics is the art of growing without soil. Crops expel a lot of energy-growing root systems to search the soil for water and nutrients to survive. By providing constant and readily available nutrition, hydroponics allows plants to grow up to 50% faster than they do in soil without compromising on quality.
The technology we use in the indoor farm also allows us to control the climate. The controlled climate maintains the ideal plant growing conditions and protects the crop from weather and pests.
The benefits
Growing fresh produce in our indoor farm has both quality and environmental benefits.
- Natural earth resources – Since we don’t use soil, there’s no damage to existing soil.
- Less chemicals – Given the indoor farm protects the produce from pests and diseases, we use minimal pesticides and fungicides.
- Recycled water – We’re able to catch rain as it runs off the roof and use it to water our crop.
- Cleaner, greener product – With no rain splashing dirt onto the crop, the presentation of our produce has never been better.
- Maximum productivity and space – Annual production of 1 hectare of hydroponic growing is equivalent to 40 hectares of open field production. We can grow even more product to ensure consistent supply.
We’re pleased to now be offering our premium indoor farm produce and we are excited to share our progress with you all. Give us a call on 0800 998 877 if you want to know more about the range and availability.
Keep it Fresh!
The SF Team
