A local charity that has been growing vegetables on the grounds of Government House has expanded its production indoors so it can supply fresh, nutritious produce to food banks and community kitchens year-round.
For the last three years, the Harvest and Share Food Relief Society has grown lettuce, cherry tomatoes, parsley, chives, basil, pak choi, Swiss chard and arugula outdoors at Government House.
But with funding from the Victoria Foundation, the society collaborated with Glenlyon Norfolk School last fall to re-purpose a portion of the school’s underground parking on Beach Drive into an indoor farm.
“It’s Victoria’s first indoor farm for fresh food,” said Allen Murr, president of the society.
Once the farm is in regular operation, Murr said, the group expects to grow and harvest 250 plants per week.
It’s currently growing a crop of mini-head Romaine lettuce for Backpack Buddies, a B.C. program that provides kids with a weekly bag of food for over the weekend when school meal programs are closed.
The project also has an educational component, with students from Glenlyon Norfolk School’s Grade 5 class learning about hydroponic cultivation and helping with harvesting the crop.
“The science is out there to grow indoors successfully,” said Murr. “Indoors, every day is a perfect day. We don’t need to use fungicides or pesticides. Because the plants don’t need to be transported all the way from California, they retain their full nutritional value when we harvest them. It allows us to offer first cut, fresh, live leafy greens to local food banks and community kitchens.”
The indoor garden at the school features a 23-foot-by-14-foot grow room with two-foot-by-four-foot stackable shelving racks holding 250 plants at a time.
The outdoor operation features produce grown in water-efficient aeroponic — an advanced form of hydroponics — pyramids developed by Murr.
Each of the four-foot-square, pyramid-shaped planters has 136 grow ports. With a total of 28 planters, the venture can cultivate just over 3,800 plants at one time in 1,100 square feet of space.
Last year, volunteers harvested approximately 8,000 plants, with a retail value of about $22,000.
The society was recognized for its environmental and social initiative with an Ecostar Award in the social impact category in 2021 and one in the local food category last year. Ecostar Awards, hosted by the non-profit Synergy Foundation, recognize outstanding environmental achievements and leadership on Vancouver Island.
Future plans include a rooftop garden at The Wade, a five-storey mixed-use building on Pandora Avenue, and creating a garden at a school in Metchosin.
For more information, go to harvestandshare.a2hosted.com.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
