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Futuristic farming students produce bumper crop

BBC A man with a beard is on a scissor lift, a large metal lift which has taken him to the top of the greenhouse where he's adjusting a ceiling fan. Everything is lit with pink and orange lighting with metal girders and glass panels making up most of the picture. BBC
The hi-tech greenhouse is training the horticulturalists of the future

Students at Hadlow College in Kent have grown and harvested over two tonnes of tomatoes in just a few months using the latest technology.

They've been working since June in a greenhouse using LED lighting, tiered growing and no soil at all.

One tonne of the food grown at The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence has already gone to food charities, the equivalent of 2,250 meals.

A large greenhouse with irrigation channels down the sides and pink LED lighting in strips along the ceiling.
This greenhouse has only been in operation for five months

Alan Harvey, the college's head of curriculum for horticulture & floristry, said: "You need good soil to grow other crops in the UK but you can grow crops in a car park using this technology."

He explained: “This is a really hi-tech greenhouse where we’ve got computers monitoring everything, all of these lights which promote the growth… in theory we can grow here 365 days a year."

The pioneering hydroponic set-up was opened in the summer in partnership with Thanet Earth, a greenhouse and indoor growing facility which supplies UK supermarkets, and food and drink innovation project Growing Kent & Medway.

Alan Harvey, one of the Hadlow College lecturers stands near a series of trays holding bedding plants. He's wearing a grey coat and tan chinos.
Alan Harvey says in theory the college can grow plants 365 days a year

Hadlow College horticulture student Hugo Plimmer said: “With climate change it's all changing but we're up to date with everything here at Hadlow.

"For the workplace this is the way things are going so it's so important to know how to use the technology."

A series of black water containers pumps and filters several feet high all connected to each other with silver pipes.
All water is filtered through these pumps and recycled

The greenhouse is built for sustainability and the water which runs off the plants is collected and put through tanks where UV light purifies it, before it's used again.

The college students have stopped production for the Christmas break but their next crop is coming in January when, unaffected by the poor winter conditions, the college expects it to flourish once again.

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