Our process
Circular food production
We reuse nutrient-rich fresh water, free of particles, from the early stages in fish production farms nearby. This water contains essential nutrients for plants, such as macronutrients N, P, K and Ca, Mg and S, and micronutrients B, Cu, Fe, Cl, Mn, Mo and Zn.
The elements are essential for plants development and growth. In our farms, the plant roots are constantly in contact with the nutrient-rich water. We give them their required conditions to effectively assimilate the nutrients from this water, e.g. suitable pH and oxygen levels.
Indoor vertical farming
We produce soilless in several layers in our vegetable farms and add nutritious water, fertilizers and CO2 in the right amount for each type of crop grown. It is essential to give a suitable light quality and regime during the crop cycle. These buildings are thermally insulated and nearly airtight to completely control climate conditions, including aerating, temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels.
The production area consists of multiple layers, providing a low environmental footprint per kg produced due to the stacking technology. These systems can be built everywhere in the world, only demanding clean water and electricity.
The production is pesticide-free, and the products have a longer shelf life than field-grown produce due to less bacterial load.
Seedlings
In a Columbi Farm, seeds are distributed mechanically to seed trays that have been prepared with growing media. At our farms, we use peat-free growing media to produce vegetables in a circular way without reducing the quality. These trays allow the seeds to get enough water and air to sprout efficiently, in a process that takes 3-5 days.
Following the automatic seeding process, we give them optimal climate conditions in growing chambers to germinate, making them ready for our vertical vegetable farm. For lettuce varieties, this usually takes about 10-20 days before the transplanting process can begin.
Shallow Water Culture (SWC)
The seedlings are automatically transplanted into our vertical farming facility, where the magic happens. When producing healthy vegetables without soil, we use nutrient-rich water supply from a fish farm nearby. This water contains everything plants need for their growing, both macro and micronutrients.
Through employing nutrient-rich water produced by fish farms as organic fertilizers for the plants, the process can be seen as a circular way of producing food. Still, in order to optimize the vegetable production and grow several different types of vegetables, we have to add a minor amount of required nutrients, such as iron and other fertilizer components.