Autumn is coming to an end in New Zealand and we are about to enter the middle of winter, but we have some news that gives off a hint of summer!
Foxto is a small town with a population of about 4,500 people, located about two hours north by car from Wellington, the capital of the North Island. In this town, strawberries, which are normally in season in summer in New Zealand, are being shipped at this time of year, even though it is the off-season. And it seems that the peak of shipping will be in the middle of winter.
This is the footage of it being featured on national television.
Domestic strawberries even in the middle of winter
In New Zealand, strawberries cannot be harvested from autumn to winter, so many are imported from Australia during that period. However, indoor farming company 26 Seasons decided to produce strawberries domestically.
26 Seasons is a company that started out in a small garage in Wellington in 2017. We started out as a business growing baby leaves hydroponically indoors, but now we are mainly focused on growing strawberries.
The company's goal is to cultivate delicious produce in a sustainable environment. Their "hydroponic" cultivation method uses 80% recycled water, without using any soil. The packaging is also made from recyclable materials, and they limit shipping to within the North Island to reduce transportation distances.
Carpet factory renovated
The factory in Foxton where the strawberries are grown hydroponically was originally used for dyeing carpets, so the air circulation was there from the start.
By relying not only on high technology but also making use of duct tape and cable ties, they overcame numerous failures and difficulties with "typical New Zealand ingenuity," and after repeated trial and error, cultivation is now on track.
In the factory, they make effective use of space by using tall shelves with pipes installed. The pipes have holes in them and the seedlings are planted one by one. They are planted, but there is no soil in them.
"All we do is circulate water that contains liquid fertilizer that is rich in nutrients for strawberries."
" commented the staff of 26 Seasons.
Naturally, it is not affected by the climate and allows for a large number of strawberries to be grown efficiently in a small space.
Contributing to local employment
When they first started cultivating strawberries, there were only about 8,000 seedlings, but this year they are cultivating 50,000 seedlings. Local people are employed for strawberry harvesting and other tasks.
"There are still many areas that can be improved, but all the staff are working with pride. Strawberries will soon be on sale in supermarkets."
says founder Kelty.
In a video shown on national television, people on the street were seen tasting the food, and it appears to be quite delicious.
Furthermore, development of this technology is ongoing so that it can be used in other countries that have problems and issues with food hygiene, etc.
By the way, Foxton is actually the town where I spent my four years of high school. It's such a small rural town that even Kiwis are surprised that I was here, but I never thought something like this would make the news!
