{"id":4345,"date":"2022-12-20T18:31:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T16:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jiffygroup.com\/news\/sri-lanka-vertical-farm-uses-jiffy-coir-pellets\/"},"modified":"2023-11-28T09:15:29","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T07:15:29","slug":"sri-lanka-vertical-farm-uses-jiffy-coir-pellets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jiffygroup.com\/pt\/solucoes\/sri-lanka-vertical-farm-uses-jiffy-coir-pellets\/","title":{"rendered":"Jiffy Coir Pellets for Sri Lanka\u2019s First Vertical Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which coir pellets to choose was a no-brainer for Aneeshan Tyagarajah of Honest Greens<\/a>. \u201cEveryone knows about Jiffy,\u201d laughs the cofounder of Honest Greens, Sri Lanka\u2019s first and only vertical farm. \u201cIn fact, Jiffy makes their coir pellets just around the corner from us.\u201d <\/p>\n

How to grow premium leafy greens<\/h2>\n

Aneeshan started Honest Greens with his friends Ashish Advani and Sanuja Cooray in 2017. After studying abroad, the three young entrepreneurs had come back to Sri Lanka looking for business opportunities. They decided to see if they could supply the local market with the kind of premium, high-nutrition leafy greens they had eaten at college. <\/p>\n

Vertical farming intrigued them, but none of them had a background in agriculture. \u201cSo we started growing spinach in Aneeshan\u2019s cupboard,\u201d laughs Sanuja, \u201cusing a tiny hydroponics system and some coir pellets. But we were impressed by the potential of the crop right away, how premium it looked.\u201d <\/p>\n

Building a sustainable system<\/h2>\n

Seeking to make a difference to the island nation\u2019s food security, the Honest Greens team made sustainability a core value of their CEA venture. They spent most of the next three years building their own resource-efficient and pesticide-free DWC system from scratch. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of trial and error,\u201d Ashish admits. \u201cWe tried different lights, irrigation systems, and suppliers. Still, in terms of growing media we didn\u2019t have to try too much because we knew what we wanted, and Jiffy were able to supply it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jiffy-7Cs made in ISO food safety certified plant<\/h2>\n

Jiffy Sri Lanka helped Honest Greens work out that the 45mm version of the Jiffy-7C Pellets would best suit their ebb and flow irrigation method. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do the pellets offer excellent water-holding capacity and yields, they\u2019re produced at a factory that\u2019s ISO food safety certified,\u201d explains Pathum Bandara, Jiffy Sri Lanka Sales Manager. \u201cFood safety is important because Honest Greens sell their leafy greens with the pellet intact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tech support and training from Jiffy <\/h2>\n

Jiffy Sri Lanka helped to sort out some early technical issues. At first, the coir pellet\u2019s dibble hole was too wide for Honest Greens\u2019 system, resulting in excess debris. Jiffy reduced the size of the opening, and the very next order contained the finetuned pellets. They also trained the start-up in the best storage methods and in how to reduce debris during the pellets\u2019 expansion phase.<\/p>\n

Consistent quality and reliability<\/h2>\n

Honest Greens have since tested other solutions including 50mm x 60mm and 60mm x 120mm coir Pellets, with support from Jiffy led by Pathum. The bigger pellets increase root penetration time and extend the transplanting time of some crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really easy to work with Pathum thanks to the consistent quality and reliable supply,\u201d says Ashish. \u201cWhenever we increase production, we know Jiffy will meet our needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data tracking to identify issues<\/h2>\n

Honest Greens currently grow over 60,000 plants \u2013 lettuce, kale, rocket, Swiss chard, and microgreens \u2013 using their fully computerized, climate-controlled system. They can quickly identify the source of any problems thanks to extensive data tracking.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, their own space-mapping software maximizes the farm\u2019s available area, increasing yield per square foot, and driving unit costs down. \u201cOutput is up 400%,\u201d says Sanuja proudly. \u201cWithout growing our footprint.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Finding additional markets<\/h2>\n

Now that they\u2019ve achieved greater efficiency, Aneeshan, Sanuja, and Ashish are ready to offer a wider variety of crops. They\u2019re already trialling bok choy and dill, and aim to experiment with strawberries one or two years down the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not just about growing great produce,\u201d says Ashish. \u201cWe\u2019ve developed business intelligence and other systems to help us identify buyers.\u201d <\/p>\n

Honest Greens runs a profit selling its produce to the local hospitality sector and consumers. Always on the lookout for new markets, they\u2019ve just started exporting to luxury resorts in the Maldives.<\/p>\n

Sharing CEA know-how<\/h2>\n

They\u2019re planning to switch to solar power in the near future, and they continue to develop additional innovations and try out new Jiffy products to boost yields even more. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the longer term, we want to franchise a plug-and-play CEA model,\u201d says Sanuja, \u201cfor people who have the funds and the land but lack the expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole beauty of vertical farms is everything is under your control,\u201d adds Aneeshan. \u201cBut that\u2019s also the problem: Messing up one thing can ruin your harvest. There are just so many moving parts. We\u2019d like to share the know-how we\u2019ve built up.\u201d <\/p>\n