Verb Farms

25/02/2024

Big update - over the past year we've been a bit quiet. That's because we've been busy with a hush hush project. The wool experiments became a big thing. We got a Callaghan grant and then an Agmardt grant and we set this up under a spinoff company called Fleecegrow. One day hopefully this will be a successful business that will sponsor agritech STEM. You can learn more at our Fleecegrow page here https://www.facebook.com/fleecegrownz

Research startup working on sheep's wool as a growing media for commercial greenhouses

15/04/2023

2023 Update. STEM kit pilot was completed and was semi successful. Students loved the hydroponic garden kits but the robot arm was too hard to share amongst all the children.

We plan to create a different kit with nutrient controllers and raspberry pi instead. This will be more relevant to current careers in electronics/engineering and agritech as well as the future with vertical farming.

In addition the wool experiments are going well and noe have some industry support.

23/12/2021

Just had an amazing meeting with the team at CreateBase . We are potentially going to collaborate so our agritech STEM kit has an accompanying sim challenge in their cool coding sim software resource for schools.

What a great meeting of minds!

10/12/2021

Presented the Masters report yesterday and the assessors feedback was very positive. I reported that my assumptions about the elec cost and robotics being a good solution were faulty, and that the repetitive tasks were actually short and enjoyable (SEEDING etc). I found that good farm design with easy to remove trays or gutters and a source of knowledge and support would save much more time.

10/12/2021

Our second batch of seedlings went much better. There was an obvious difference between the pulse lighting and control. However even the control was not able to turn these red and purple lettuces red, leading me to believe even the control did not have enough light, or the right light. So much to learn!

14/10/2021

Transferred the latest seedlings over to the hydroponic garden. Threw the first crop out! This crop looking much better. And in exciting news the gutters will finally arrive today!

29/09/2021

Found out we had a real newbie mistake with the nutrient thinking we could just mix spoonfuls of it rather than dissolving the whole lot in a container and missing a third smaller bag conpletely. Added a little and the plants started to green up straight away and grow better but still not great. If I wasn't doing the growth experiment with the lights I would throw out this lot and start over.

25/09/2021

We are trying out wool as a growing medium. Probably should have got the hang of things with traditional methods first, but then I am not a very traditional type of person.

25/09/2021

Have made several beginner errors so the first round of plants is looking a bit under the weather. However we have managed to transfer into the hydroponic garden kit and get some new seedlings in the ebb and flow.

18/09/2021

Aagh my beginner status showed today. I went and had a look and was shocked at all the wilting leaves. Then I realised they were the baby leaves, the cotylédons and it's totally expected. Added some nutrients for what are now grown up seedlings and will prepare to transfer in the next few days. I have to say that is right on track for the two week mark we were planning on. They are so tiny though. Next time I might add a light nutrient mix a bit earlier and move them closer to the light.

12/09/2021

Exciting progress today with our research. Pulse controller prototype created and working. Now to find out whether we can still grow plants as well or if it destroys the lights!

08/09/2021

The miracle of life

07/09/2021

Worried that my seeds are too dry so want to go the old fashioned route and give them a bit of a water spray. Didn't have any bottles that hadn't had chemicals in them. Quick post to local Facebook group & a nearby farmer has a spare never been used. Love living rural.

06/09/2021

Well that didn't take long. Can you see it?

05/09/2021

Had some issues with our water pump timer last night. Luckily I was being cautious and had stayed to check it went OK. In fact it didn't turn on and while I was standing there reading the instruction book, it randomly turned on but didn't stop after a minute! Just managed to pull the plug before it overflowed! Luckily hubby had a better brand in his gear so we tested that at 6am.

The light strips aren't sticking to the wooden bench as soon as they get warm. Have taped them up for now but that's the next challenge to solve.

05/09/2021

Big day at Verb Farms. Covid may have slowed us down but it didn't stop us. We are officially crop farmers. Our first seeds planted today!

Thanks to all those who have supported us including Bluelab, Kete Kai, Pure Hydroponics, Franklin Hydroponics, Franklin Agritech and all our fundraiser supporters. We could not have done this without you.

17/06/2021

Interesting thought at the H**p Fibre stand at Fieldays. Could they make seedling cubes with their w**d mats?

16/05/2021

We did it! We hit the $5k minimum we needed to get started. And people are still giving! Every bit extra means more we can do.

Thanks so much to everyone who gave. And if you wanted to, it's not too late!

https://pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment-turned-social-enterprise

Help us change the world of farming in this experiment designed to advance NZ agritech - a social enterprise to create, inspire and educate

16/05/2021

Wow a generous donor just gave $1000 to my agritech STEM project! Just over $300 with one day to go. All or nothing so its a nail biter.

Now is the time to donate if you were planning to - meanwhile I will keep painting the floors. White paint with anti mould is best for indoor farms as its easy to clean and reflects the uv light to encourage growth. Plus it's nicer to work in.

Painting both sides gives it more of a moisture barrier as well. I just hope they fit - it was too snug to try in case they got stuck so I won't know till the paints dry. Might be getting the bandsaw out. 🤞

https://pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment-turned-social-enterprise

14/05/2021

Two days to go. So much has happened.

A company making some of the parts we need reached out and asked how they could help.

Three other companies loosely cooperating go in touch to find out if these microbusiness could supply their food bags.

In theory,it might work like this - I buy seeds off one, i put them in my kits with the growing equipment and software, people buy them and grow veges, they sell the veges all year round to the food bags.

And donors got us over $3500!

We have two days to get to $5k to finish the Vertical garden build, and start designing the agritech STEM kits for kidd and microbusinesses for adults.

Any donation welcome. https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment-turned-social-enterprise

Help us change the world of farming in this experiment designed to advance NZ agritech - a social enterprise to create, inspire and educate

12/05/2021

Just 4 days to go on our fundraiser if you were planning to donate. We are over halfway to our $5k target.

Build, learn, grow, earn.

That's our motto. Get kids building agritech STEM kits and learning both skills and potential careers. Get adults into microbusinesses learning skills as they earn. We even have a potential food bag customer for them!

But we need your help to get started. $10, or more - whatever you can afford, we thank you for.

https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment-turned-social-enterprise

10/05/2021

This shows what we have been working on lately. We sourced a hydroponic kit and my 7 year old daughter helped me build it until, "Mummy stop! I want to do it myself".

This was a great indication that its the right level for this age bracket. We had a good conversation about how the water flows through and what the pump does.

Our motto is Build, learn, grow, earn.

This is a great example of build and learn. While having a lot of fun!

Don't forget only 7 days left in our fundraiser if you wanted to donate.
https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment-turned-social-enterprise

07/05/2021

We are starting a social enterprise to innovate and inspire kids and adults into agritech and indoor farming. We are currently designing agritech STEM kits for schools and completing our research into a product that will reduce the electricity costs of indoor farming. If you would like to help, you can donate or share the link below. https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/6799-vertical-farming-a-collaborative-science-experiment