Hydroponic Farming

 When we stopped at the farm to learn about Icelandic Horses, we also learned about Hydroponic Farming. The family specialized in cherry tomatoes, but there were other plants growing in the green houses.

horses and green houses

We saw many farms with green houses on their property. There were green houses at the hot springs and spas, too.

(click to get a larger photo)

This is an appropriate time to talk about names in Iceland. Thankfully, Margaret our tour guide gave an explanation. Horticulturist Helena Hermundardottir is the wife and mother of this family operation. She is the daughter of Hermund or maybe Hermundar. When women marry they keep their family name. Knutur Rafn Armann is an agronomist and the husband and father. He is the son (man) of Ar or Rafn; he takes his father's name. The children usually are the sons or daughters of their father, man, but on occasion will take the name of the mother and be dottir. A family of 4 will have 4 different last names if the children include a boy and a girl. We all thought it was very confusing, but Margaret assured us it was very easy to keep track of the family tree.

Back to the tomatoes and hydroponic farming in greenhouses...

Tomatoes are grown at Friöheimar all year round in 11,000 square meters of electrically lit greenhouses. Annual production of tomatoes is about 700 tons, which is about 39% of Iceland's total tomato market. Here, tomatoes are harvested every day of the year, despite long, dark and cold winters.

We got to taste the cherry tomatoes and I admit they were some of the very best cherry tomatoes I have EVER tasted! (I'm usually a grape tomato fan.)

our greenhouse guide explaining the process from seed to shipment

The plants are attached to a rod that is extended as the plants grow, allowing air circulation and proper pollinating.

The bees are imported from Holland and they pollinate the tomato plants. At Friöheimar there are about 1,200 bees that work pollinating flowers, and each bee can visit up to 2,000 flowers a day!

basil plants in the neighboring greenhouse

What was interesting about this greenhouse was the dining area was between some of the rows of the tomatoes. The bumble bees were flying around during the guide's presentation. The tomato soup and fresh bread looked and smelled delicious, but this was not our evening meal destination.

And speaking of water...Margaret also told us not to waste our money on buying bottled water. She assured us the tap water is cold and delicious. IT WAS! My stomach is a little sensitive to different waters. We often bring our water from home (SD & AZ) when we travel to prevent stomach issues. But on this trip I drank cold water from the bathroom taps (no sulfur smell or taste) and it was always cold and refreshing. A number of us commented how much we will miss the cold water from Iceland. The hot water sometimes had a slight sulfur smell as it came from the hot springs. It was hot and we needed to be careful and adjust the temperature before getting wet.

Since this was a farm specializing in tomatoes, the menu was focused on tomato drinks and desserts.

Prices would be about 130 kroner to 1 dollar. 

Tomato cheesecake? Tomato ice cream? Tomato and apple pie? Tomato and cucumber sorbet? Only the tomato soup w/bread sounded enticing. But we did not have the time or opportunity to try any of the drinks or food.

There were also some flowers growing in the green houses.

geraniums

peach or salmon colored geraniums

this flower was in a planter outside