In Iceland its all about “Living with the Land.”  We learned about how farming works in one of the coldest and darkest areas of the world, Iceland.

Part of our Golden Circle experience was going to a working greenhouse. Fridheimar Farms produces tomatoes year-round for use by Icelanders. They do not export any of their produce to other parts of the world.  They make just enough that they can enjoy garden fresh produce year-round — picked at their ripest and available in the market that same afternoon.

Drip irrigation is used for tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens and even potatoes.

Artificial lights are needed for 17 hours a day, and hot water from a natural “low temperature area” is used to heat the green house (see lights and white metal pipes below).  “Low temperature areas” are characterized by underground natural hot springs with water temperatures that average 100-150 degrees F, making them perfect for piping through homes and businesses for natural heating and hot water uses. Note: “High temperature areas” have deep underground springs with temperatures around 300 degrees F and are used to produce hydro-electric steam power which fuels the renewable energy supplies for the entire country.

But all this would not “bee” possible without a system for pollination.  The farmers ship in bumblebees from the Netherlands to pollinate all the produce.

Bumblebees are particularly effective because they only pollinate a plant once, leaving a pollen “footprint” that other bumblebees recognize and even farmers can see with the naked eye so they know the bumblebees have done their job.  (Hope and Joy were really interested in the Bumblebees)

The bumblebees get shipped in boxes where they have formed a very uniquely shaped hive for the single queen and her colony.

They don’t have to spray anything with pesticides, and if a harmful bug does infest the green house they simply bring in another beneficial bug to do battle (think ladybugs eating aphids).

One of the highlights at the farm was getting to try their fresh tomato soup and “Healthy Mary” drink with a cucumber spear.

While Iceland certainly has the advantage of having an unlimited supply of renewable geothermal power, it would be interesting to see how more US farmers could utilize these types of hydroponic farming techniques.