12/12 Farmer Ferdinand Bouwman

High-tech farmer Ferdinand Bouwman

Bubbling water, the humming of air conditioning units, beeping meters, red and blue lights. The converted sea container in which Ferdinand Bouwman (1969) grows his vegetables has something of a futuristic laboratory. The space is extremely well insulated. It's spotless here. Nothing left to chance. Everything is under control; from the moment the seed is put into the plug to when it is harvested as a head of lettuce from the racks. Welcome to the world of high-tech vertical farming!

This is state of the art vegetable cultivation. In four racks, stacked one over another, the heads of lettuce grow in water, without soil. In the shipping container farm, the two water tanks are connected to a pump and sensor with four pipes. These sensors monitor whether the water quality is optimal. They measure temperature, the amount of nutrients and the acidity (pH).

If a measurement is slightly off from the settings, immediately the system intervenes. This happens continuously. A pump switches on or off, the temperature rises or falls. The humidity is adjusted, or the level of carbon dioxide changed. Farmer Ferdinand can check everything from his phone as well. He is able to remotely control the number of hours that the lights stay on in the container farm, but also, for example, when the plants get water and how much.

Fresh challenge

In 1993 Ferdinand Bouwman started as a physiotherapist at the Foundation for the Disabled and Rehabilitation Care, the SGR Group, and he specialized in the treatment of people with spinal cord injury, amputations, or Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA). A beautiful job. The satisfaction is indescribable

After nearly thirty years he rose to be a manager. He felt it was time for a new challenge, though. He immediately knows what he wants: to go outside and grow vegetables! In 2021, Ferdinand trades the security of an office job for a new adventure. He does not act on a whim but is driven by the conviction that you can produce good quality food on Curaçao. He does it for the island.

Now or never

“In 1997 I was diagnosed with cancer. During that period, I became more interested in nature. Before then I was mainly concerned with 'being somebody'. You take everything for granted and hardly think about where the food in your house comes from. Even after I was healed, this thought kept playing in my head. I had just passed fifty and thought: if I want something else, it should happen now.”

“I have always been interested in computers. The technology, software, networks. This knowledge did help me to master this form of cultivation. I'm still learning. I try to find solutions. You rise and go to bed with it. We hope that our products will mean much less importation in the future. We expect that with our products much less food import is required in the future. We mainly grow lettuce and herbs, because so much of it still comes from the US and the Netherlands: 1000 tons in 2020! Lettuce is a fast-growing crop with constant demand.”

Martha Koosje

“My parents are from Curaçao. I grew up in the Netherlands, but we often visited during the holidays. A large part of Martha Koosje belongs to the family. In the early 1990s, my brother and I were allowed to build on the site. Now we each have our own house.”

”Dirk, my brother, is our 'Doc Brown'. Since he has a day job, he comes up with all kinds of handy contraptions in his spare time, such as a gutter where we can put the racks in to hose them down. Our father was the driving force behind the project, and the main investor of our company HYBiZZ. He passed away in December last year and sadly was not able to share the experience when we really started. My mother is 85 and she helps with sowing and harvesting.”

Indoor hydroponics

The soil here is not suitable for agriculture. The top layer consists of clay with large boulders of limestone. The site is also too small for profitable production. That is why I started with a small Aquaponics installation, in other words with vegetables that grow in water, without soil.”

“You use fish in a basin to enrich the water with nutrients. All those little links, that makes it complicated. First, the crops were out in the open, asking for trouble. It could be too hot, too humid, or too dry. All sorts of animals love to nibble on a leaf of lettuce. I thought we have to control this; it can only be done inside. In the container farm, the plants also grow on water, but without the fish.”

“The system controls the administering of nutrients. It's hydroponics in an indoor setting. This has many advantages. More control, but you also saving water and space. In 100 cubic meters we are able to plant the equivalent of a two-hectare field outside. Continuous cultivation is depleting soils worldwide. We grow without soil and do not use pesticides.”

Day and night in a container

The conditions are ideal inside of the container, but comparable to those in nature. Dark and cooler at night, then light and warmer again. This variety is essential. As a matter of fact, plants are just like people: they rest at night so they can be active during the day.

In the container farm sunlight is simulated with the use of red and blue light of LED lamps. Those panels with lights shine on the growing racks and create a magical, fairytale-like atmosphere. Ferdinand plays with the day and night effect a bit. The more hours the lights are on, the faster the crops grow. He also gives some extra blue light. This is beneficial to the color formation of red lettuce varieties.

Plants need red and blue light to stay healthy. More intake of light means that they sweat more profusely. This process prevents accumulation of substances in the cells. All this activity makes a plant thirsty and hungry. Therefore, more water with nutrients is sent to the drip system during light hours.

This is needed for a nice head of lettuce

·      Container temperature: between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius

·      Water temperature: below 20 degrees Celsius

·      Humidity level: 60 to 70 percent (moist = fungi, drier = edges on the leaves)

·      Acidity (pH): 5.8 (for absorption of nutrients; pH 7 = neutral, less acidic; drinking water comes with a pH of about 8, so it must be acidic)

High-tech farming in a nutshell

Step 1: sowing and sprouting

The seedlings grow in a container with 288 plugs. These are made from natural products. Each plug contains a seed, tightly wrapped in a bit of finely chopped coconut husk. The seeds are of the best quality and come from Westland and North Holland, also known as 'Seed Valley'.

Under the lid it is nicely hot and moist. Absolutely perfect for germinating the seeds. After a week, the plastic cover comes off. Every eight hours, water flows under the germination trays and the plugs are filled with water. At three weeks young, the seedlings are large enough; they are transferred to one of four breeding trays.

Step 2: grow and care

Water. That's what it's all about in the high-tech vertical farming system. Both the source of moisture and nutrients for the crops in the trays. The plants grow in a v-shaped construction of two pieces of foam rubber with felt. A drip is attached to the top of each vertical row. The water drops fall on the felt and then reach all the plants from plug to plug. What remains flows back to the tanks.

This is sort of a spa for pampered plants. The young crop grows in an ideal environment. Every day, farmer Ferdinand checks with great attention and care if the plants are doing well. He wears gloves for optimal hygiene and dons special sunglasses against the bright light in the container farm.

Step 3: Harvest

A full rack yields a harvest of 2 to 2.5 kilos. The bottom rows are left empty to prevent roots from blocking the drainage of water. Ferdinand takes the framework out and puts it on his work bench. Carefully he pulls out the heads of lettuce. He removes some yellow, limp leaves. Those are for the chickens. This way nothing of the harvest goes to waste. Only the best quality is good enough. This is why Ferdinand is looking for a better and sustainable alternative to the plastic bags in which to deliver the orders. In spite of the air holes in the bags, the inside remains too moist.

Step 4: maintenance

High-tech vertical farming runs on modern software. Much of it operates smoothly. The conditions must be fine. The water runs back into the system via the plants. Over time, the water quality deteriorates. That is why the tanks are cleaned and the water changed once a month. In the meantime, anything could get stuck or broken. Ferdinand works from a maintenance plan. He checks the entire system and if something is broken, he fixes it.

After each harvest, the racks, gutters, drains and sponges are given a thorough wash. Spraying away of the remaining roots, removal of green deposits. The rubber frames and felt pads are disinfected with a natural and biodegradable agent based on citric acid. Reassembly, and then everything is ready for the next crop of seedlings.

Lettuce and more

Ferdinand Bouwman of HYBiZZ also grows vegetables and herbs with a special taste. In addition to the usual butterhead lettuce, for example; Batavia lettuce, Lolo Bionda and Rosa, Crystal Lettuce (resembles iceberg lettuce with a nutty flavour), red veined sorrel, kale, Chinese cabbage, curly parsley, dill, basil, mint, microgreens. Nice, crispy and super fresh! The harvest goes directly to restaurants and hotels. Less than three hours later, it's served on the guests' plates.

Soon Ferdinand hopes to produce more in a second, cheaper container, a greenhouse or a space in an empty building. Then first the electricity bill must be reduced. The container farm guzzles energy. This can be done more sustainably and cheaper with solar panels.

Interview with Farmer Ferdinand Bouwman.