Tilapia and basil prove a winning combination
Tilapia and basil prove a winning combination
WEST CHESTER, PA -- Science, education, free enterprise, creativity and opportunity mesh here at Cheyney University.
Michael Derro, a 30-year veteran of the produce industry, created Herban Farms LLC, a privately owned company built on university property. The project, which went into operation in June, is a greenhouse for simultaneously growing fresh basil and raising thousands of tilapia fish.
Mr. Derro told The Produce News that "Herban" is a play on words, explaining that his farm can be used to grow "herbs" in an "urban" environment.
Herban Farms grows living basil for sale in regional retail stores. The fish that swim beneath the aquaponically grown herbs belong to -- and are sold by -- Cheyney University. "But the fish are my pets," Mr. Derro joked.
He spent 18 months working out an agreement to build the greenhouse structure on university property.
University interns, researchers and students use the facility for their own varied and related purposes. Mr. Derro paid for the construction of the greenhouse and its four pools, which are operated by computerized heating and related air, water and facility management systems. The computer systems take into account weather and sunlight readings. Vents in the ceiling and walls close in the event of rain or, of course, low temperatures. Light shades are automatically pulled to protect the plants from sunburn from harmful rays, should the sunlight be too intense. "We want a consistent environment here," Mr. Derro said Nov. 27.
University researchers help Herban Farms improve productivity, although after just six months, the operation is successfully generating high-quality herbs and a prolific fish population. The fish weigh as much as two pounds when they are harvested once a month, and most of the fish weight yields tasty filets, he said.
Mr. Derro expects the farm to be profitable within its first year of operation.
He has room to expand on the Cheyney property, and with a seven-year lease, he built the first greenhouse to be portable, so he can eventually move the facility if needed. If the arrangement with Cheyney goes well, Mr. Derro anticipates building his second structure to be more permanently entrenched. He said that this first facility, however, is built to withstand heavy winds and extreme snowfall. He expects it will also withstand cold winter temperatures, though he half-joked that he might be sleeping in the greenhouse on cold winter nights just to be sure.
The combination of tilapia and basil was a careful selection based on extensive research. The fish are fed a specific type of food chosen because the resultant fish waste turns to a mix of nitrates and other chemicals that is ideal for growing basil. Work is underway elsewhere on the Cheyney campus to find the best combination for growing other herb varieties with other types of fish.
Mr. Derro said that he had always dreamed of growing live basil, and when he happened to meet an aquaculture specialist from the University of Maryland, this concept was born.
The greenhouse is 11,000 square feet in size and has four pools that are 11 feet wide, 146 feet long and three feet deep. Each pool holds 33,000 gallons of water and is kept at 80-85 degrees by a 1 million-BTU heater. Like a home aquarium, the pools have bubblers that provide critical oxygen for the fish. The bubblers also help move the water for an even chemical mix within.
Mr. Derro said that the greenhouse is vented to reduce the potentially high levels of carbon dioxide exhaled by the basil that could be dangerous to humans.
The plants filter impurities from the water that would otherwise become lethally toxic to the fish. The balance of plants and fish leaves no need to change the water, though occasionally calcium nitrate is added to the water. This fall when the greenhouse had a growing presence of aphids and white flies, 10,000 carnivorous ladybugs were successfully released to solve the problem. If other problems occured, the introduction of praying mantises is another natural pest control option.
The basil is seeded in 24-inch by 32-inch foam boards that are about an inch thick. The seeds are incubated in heaters on one side of the greenhouse, and then the boards are launched to grow the herbs until they are in the range of 13.5 to 15 inches high. Four generations of herbs are grown at a time, and each generation is progressively moved toward the end of the pool as its predecessor is harvested.
Herban Farms sells most of its product to Coosemans DC in Washington, DC, and Coosemans provides the herbs to Safeway in the Washington metropolitan area.
Valerio's Produce Inc. in Hatfield, PA, distributes the basil to Genuardi's stores in the Philadelphia area. Another outlet is Philadelphia specialty wholesaler John Vena Inc.
In late November, Herban Farms was harvesting 425 dozen basil plants a week. As the facility reaches full maturity by the first of the year, the greenhouse should produce as many as 900 dozen plants a week.
The suggested retail price for each plant is in the range of $2.49 to $2.99, and the plants are shipped in a 12-count box. They are not harvested unless an order is in hand, so they are shipped "just in time." Coosemans picks up the basil in cost-efficient backhauls to Washington.
The plants take 33-36 days to grow from initial seeding to harvest, at which point the basil plant -- root and all -- is easily lifted from its foam float. The live plant is placed in a cone-shaped clear plastic sleeve bearing consumer handling information, which relates that the plant is to be placed in water when taken to the consumer's home. The plant needs to be kept above 50 degrees and as such would die in a refrigerator.
The plant will grow indefinitely in a water vase and can be harvested as it grows, but Mr. Derro said that the intention is for the leaves of the plant to be consumed within seven to 10 days.
The fish are harvested using a net system, with the school being herded down the length of the pools. All but the largest fish escape the nets.
Mr. Derro, 47, said that 1,800 tilapia were first put into the pools in June, and now about 5,000 fish populate the four pools. That number, he said, is a rough estimate, as it is impossible to count the fish. An estimated 85 percent of the tilapia born in the pools live to maturity.
This, Mr. Derro said, is a very high survival rate for fish, which is attributable to their living in an ideal environment, excepting the dreaded monthly net. Tilapia is live-born at 85 to 105 babies at a time.
Mr. Derro said that his basil does not qualify as organically grown, although it is produced without pesticides "in a totally natural environment."
Working with Mr. Derro is his vice president, general manager and son, Justin, 23; his 23-year old son-in-law Jonathan Rhodes; and his 24-year-old stepson, Rick Constantine, who is the operation's production manager. Mr. Rhodes, who is from England and is a part-time elite-level soccer coach, has worked for Herban Farms for a month.
According to Wikipedia, Cheyney University is the oldest of the historically African-American colleges and universities in the United States, started on a grant from a Quaker philanthropist in 1829 after race riots occurred in Philadelphia. The university is located outside West Chester and is a few miles from the mushroom production area of Kennett Square, PA.
Michael Derro, a 30-year veteran of the produce industry, created Herban Farms LLC, a privately owned company built on university property. The project, which went into operation in June, is a greenhouse for simultaneously growing fresh basil and raising thousands of tilapia fish.
Mr. Derro told The Produce News that "Herban" is a play on words, explaining that his farm can be used to grow "herbs" in an "urban" environment.
Herban Farms grows living basil for sale in regional retail stores. The fish that swim beneath the aquaponically grown herbs belong to -- and are sold by -- Cheyney University. "But the fish are my pets," Mr. Derro joked.
He spent 18 months working out an agreement to build the greenhouse structure on university property.
University interns, researchers and students use the facility for their own varied and related purposes. Mr. Derro paid for the construction of the greenhouse and its four pools, which are operated by computerized heating and related air, water and facility management systems. The computer systems take into account weather and sunlight readings. Vents in the ceiling and walls close in the event of rain or, of course, low temperatures. Light shades are automatically pulled to protect the plants from sunburn from harmful rays, should the sunlight be too intense. "We want a consistent environment here," Mr. Derro said Nov. 27.
University researchers help Herban Farms improve productivity, although after just six months, the operation is successfully generating high-quality herbs and a prolific fish population. The fish weigh as much as two pounds when they are harvested once a month, and most of the fish weight yields tasty filets, he said.
Mr. Derro expects the farm to be profitable within its first year of operation.
He has room to expand on the Cheyney property, and with a seven-year lease, he built the first greenhouse to be portable, so he can eventually move the facility if needed. If the arrangement with Cheyney goes well, Mr. Derro anticipates building his second structure to be more permanently entrenched. He said that this first facility, however, is built to withstand heavy winds and extreme snowfall. He expects it will also withstand cold winter temperatures, though he half-joked that he might be sleeping in the greenhouse on cold winter nights just to be sure.
The combination of tilapia and basil was a careful selection based on extensive research. The fish are fed a specific type of food chosen because the resultant fish waste turns to a mix of nitrates and other chemicals that is ideal for growing basil. Work is underway elsewhere on the Cheyney campus to find the best combination for growing other herb varieties with other types of fish.
Mr. Derro said that he had always dreamed of growing live basil, and when he happened to meet an aquaculture specialist from the University of Maryland, this concept was born.
The greenhouse is 11,000 square feet in size and has four pools that are 11 feet wide, 146 feet long and three feet deep. Each pool holds 33,000 gallons of water and is kept at 80-85 degrees by a 1 million-BTU heater. Like a home aquarium, the pools have bubblers that provide critical oxygen for the fish. The bubblers also help move the water for an even chemical mix within.
Mr. Derro said that the greenhouse is vented to reduce the potentially high levels of carbon dioxide exhaled by the basil that could be dangerous to humans.
The plants filter impurities from the water that would otherwise become lethally toxic to the fish. The balance of plants and fish leaves no need to change the water, though occasionally calcium nitrate is added to the water. This fall when the greenhouse had a growing presence of aphids and white flies, 10,000 carnivorous ladybugs were successfully released to solve the problem. If other problems occured, the introduction of praying mantises is another natural pest control option.
The basil is seeded in 24-inch by 32-inch foam boards that are about an inch thick. The seeds are incubated in heaters on one side of the greenhouse, and then the boards are launched to grow the herbs until they are in the range of 13.5 to 15 inches high. Four generations of herbs are grown at a time, and each generation is progressively moved toward the end of the pool as its predecessor is harvested.
Herban Farms sells most of its product to Coosemans DC in Washington, DC, and Coosemans provides the herbs to Safeway in the Washington metropolitan area.
Valerio's Produce Inc. in Hatfield, PA, distributes the basil to Genuardi's stores in the Philadelphia area. Another outlet is Philadelphia specialty wholesaler John Vena Inc.
In late November, Herban Farms was harvesting 425 dozen basil plants a week. As the facility reaches full maturity by the first of the year, the greenhouse should produce as many as 900 dozen plants a week.
The suggested retail price for each plant is in the range of $2.49 to $2.99, and the plants are shipped in a 12-count box. They are not harvested unless an order is in hand, so they are shipped "just in time." Coosemans picks up the basil in cost-efficient backhauls to Washington.
The plants take 33-36 days to grow from initial seeding to harvest, at which point the basil plant -- root and all -- is easily lifted from its foam float. The live plant is placed in a cone-shaped clear plastic sleeve bearing consumer handling information, which relates that the plant is to be placed in water when taken to the consumer's home. The plant needs to be kept above 50 degrees and as such would die in a refrigerator.
The plant will grow indefinitely in a water vase and can be harvested as it grows, but Mr. Derro said that the intention is for the leaves of the plant to be consumed within seven to 10 days.
The fish are harvested using a net system, with the school being herded down the length of the pools. All but the largest fish escape the nets.
Mr. Derro, 47, said that 1,800 tilapia were first put into the pools in June, and now about 5,000 fish populate the four pools. That number, he said, is a rough estimate, as it is impossible to count the fish. An estimated 85 percent of the tilapia born in the pools live to maturity.
This, Mr. Derro said, is a very high survival rate for fish, which is attributable to their living in an ideal environment, excepting the dreaded monthly net. Tilapia is live-born at 85 to 105 babies at a time.
Mr. Derro said that his basil does not qualify as organically grown, although it is produced without pesticides "in a totally natural environment."
Working with Mr. Derro is his vice president, general manager and son, Justin, 23; his 23-year old son-in-law Jonathan Rhodes; and his 24-year-old stepson, Rick Constantine, who is the operation's production manager. Mr. Rhodes, who is from England and is a part-time elite-level soccer coach, has worked for Herban Farms for a month.
According to Wikipedia, Cheyney University is the oldest of the historically African-American colleges and universities in the United States, started on a grant from a Quaker philanthropist in 1829 after race riots occurred in Philadelphia. The university is located outside West Chester and is a few miles from the mushroom production area of Kennett Square, PA.
