GreenSpace: growing food without soil and keeping it local

Ellie Donovan, founder of GreenSpace, is not a fan of food miles. She's also not keen on mono cropping, pesticides, wasting water or on aggressive mechanical farming methods.

Donovan champions sustainability – biodiversity and growing produce on consumers’ doorsteps – and is practising what she preaches in her startup using a combination of hydroponics (growing without soil) and urban agriculture.

“Studies have shown that food travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to plate,” she says. “Our produce is grown right in the city and picked and delivered to order to local food businesses. This ensures optimum flavour and nutritional content. There is a definite shift by consumers towards more locally grown produce and GreenSpace takes local and fresh to another level for city dwellers.”

GreenSpace uses hydroponic systems to produce fresh herbs, salads and micro greens for the food industry. Plants are grown in shallow trays with oxygen and nutrient-rich water pumped to their roots.

“Our system allows us to provide the freshest possible produce all year round,” Donovan explains. “We are not subject to seasonality and our growing method does not deplete soil or waste water. It also avoids the carbon emissions and nutrient loss associated with food transportation.”

Donovan began growing vegetables with her mother’s guidance at the age of three and has maintained her interest ever since.

She has worked in gardening and horticulture for the last 16 years, first in the UK and then at the Mount Juliet estate in Kilkenny.

“I had the most fantastic teacher in Paddy Daly at Mount Juliet who knew every inch of the 1,500 acre estate and generously shared his knowledge,” she says.

Most recently Donovan spent five years on the retail side of plant growing systems where she was introduced to hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic methods of production and became fascinated by hydroponics.

“I was used to growing in soil and couldn’t believe how fast things grew and how nice they tasted using this method,” she says. It was this revelation that sparked the idea for her business.

Donovan has just finished the Exxcel Programme for female entrepreneurs in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) sectors at The Rubicon Centre at Cork Institute of Technology.

“I couldn’t say enough for the programme,” she says. “I went in there with loads of ideas but no structure on them and came out of the six months with a very focused business plan and a clear idea of my goals for the next three years.”

Donovan is based in Kinsale, where she grows on a one-acre site, but she has already identified a suitable location in Cork city for her business and is recruiting potential customers and finalising the funding to take her business to the next stage.

Once the site is secured, GreenSpace will be in full production in its urban setting within three months. The employment potential is around four jobs in the short term.

The company’s initial target market is the food service sector while Donovan will also design, install and maintain growing systems for those who would like to become self sufficient, both private consumers and commercial concerns.

“The flexibility of these alternative growing methods has enormous potential,” says Donovan who estimates the initial start-up cost of her business at around €30,000. “They can be adapted to almost any situation, allowing us to grow anywhere and everywhere.

“This will allow for large scale commercial grows for the food, floristry, medicinal and horticultural sectors as well as smaller hobby systems for homes, offices, restaurants and schools. Most of the food businesses I spoke to as part of my market research revealed the bulk of their produce is bought from large distribution chains. These are the customers I am aiming to supply first.”

– OLIVE KEOGH