Gerry Harvey’s cucumber farm at Peats Ridge supplying major retailers

HE’S BETTER known for selling furniture, but billionaire Gerry Harvey’s amazing high tech greenhouse on the Central Coast is churning out millions of baby cucumbers for Australia’s major grocery retailers.

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THEY’RE small, green and crunchy and billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey is growing them by the million at Peats Ridge.

Harvey’s $20 million Family Fresh Farms greenhouse produces 2.4 million kilograms of baby cucumbers a year which end up in the fruit and vege isles of retail giants like Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

Family Fresh Farms facility manager Andrew Young in the state of the art greenhouse at Peats Ridge. Pic: AAP Image/Troy Snook

Almost nothing is left to chance in this high tech operation which picked it’s first crop of baby cucumbers in May last year.

A “fogging” system and boiler maintain constant temperature and humidity. Water, carbon dioxide and light are carefully regulated.

The entire glass roof of the five hectare greenhouses is cleaned once a week — because one per cent less light means one per cent less yield.

Workers glide along the rows on motorised platforms, plucking the cucumbers from the vine before putting them into boxes which are taken away by driverless vehicles.

The production rate and efficiency of each individual worker is closely monitored.

This is a farm where size matters and cucumbers must measure between 85 and 110mm and be straight to meet the exacting quality standards.

Crates of baby cucumbers.

Cucumber King, Gerry Harvey.

Plant pests are controlled by natural predators and chemicals are seldom used.

Family Fresh Farms general manager Andrew Young said four crops were produced per year and each crop was picked twice a day for about ten weeks.

“It has to be monitored carefully - a cucumber can grow too big overnight,” Mr Young said.

The greenhouse covers 5 hectares. Pic: AAP Image/Troy Snook

A truck from fruit and vegetable wholesaler Perfection arrives daily at 1am to collect cucumbers to take to their Sydney distribution centre.

80 people are employed at the facility including pickers from Vanuatu.

Family Fresh Farms was a key stop on a regional tour of Central Coast greenhouse operations run by peak industry organisation Protected Cropping Australia last week .

Nicky Mann from Protected Cropping Australiasays Central Coast greenhouse horticulure has great poential. Pic: AAP Image/Troy Snook

Other stops included visits to well known flower growers Dominellos at Peats Ridge and Olivieris at Doyalson North.

Protected Cropping Australia chairwoman Nicky Mann of Roses and Berries 2 Go at Lake

Haven guessed the value of greenhouse horticulture on the Central Coast was around $100 million dollars.

“There’s huge growth potential,” Ms Mann said.

Flower farmer Nate Olivieri at his major greenhouse flower operation at Doyalson.

“We are located about 90 minutes from the centre of Sydney. That’s where the biggest population in Australia is,” she said.

“People are very conscious of where their food comes from — food miles — so to me the green house industry is a big opportunity for the Central Coast.

“We’ve got the land, we’ve now got a more reliable water supply — we are positioned well.

Ms Mann said a number of councils from Queensland and Western Australia had already approached her organisation to offer support to any growers who wanted to locate there.

Dominello Flower Growers are producing greenhouse flowers for the Sydney market.

“If Central Coast Council can jump on this now and get people to come here and see what we have to offer — it’s a huge opportunity

“We’ve got all that land west of the M1 that small land that is going to go to residential but you need jobs for those people — and this could generate jobs.”

Family Fresh Farms greenhouses at Peats Ridge. Pic: AAP Image/Troy Snook

GROWING CONCERN

Big though Farmily Fresh Farms greenhouse operation is, Australia is low down the list when it comes to Greenhouse growing in the world.

A 2018 survey showed the US had the highest number of individual greenhouse growers with 604.

However, the Netherlands is the recognised leader in greenhouse technology with 346 individual growers and around 11,000 hectares of greenhouses. Much of the technology used in the Peats Ridge farm comes from Holland.

Australia has around 106 growers and just 230 hectares of greenhouse.