Griiner Pastures – AutoPot Collaborations In South Korea

Four days gone and The Man was in the land of his dreams, in every way but one. Sure, by day viewing vast, varied, vitalising vegetal vistas verily validated visiting. But could he sleep, perchance to dream? No chance chingu. Still, plenty of time to slumber on the other side / in Business Class on the flight home. For now, South Korean cultivation commanded Jason Ralph-Smith’s vision.

Four days earlier our AutoPot MD, had touched down in Seoul. His mission? To learn more about the particulars of indoor cultivation in South Korea. More than that, how the South Korean appetite for diverse, fresh, hard-to-source produce might be satisfied. Even more than that, how Griin Agriculture x AutoPot might take shape. Collaborations ahoy! Featuring Griin’s innovative designs and our power-free, zero-waste tech. That’s right, ‘x’. Trendy huh?

Arriving at a new destination far from home what you really need is a friendly, like-minded, and gregarious host. Francisco Kweon, CEO of Griin Agriculture, proved to be all these things and more. Once Jason was settled-in at his hotel (having taken his compartment bag out of his hold bag, his wash bag out of his compartment bag, his toothbrush bag out of his wash bag, and his toothbrush out of his toothbrush bag) it was time for some plant life. Francisco led the way.

First on the agenda was a visit to Griin’s indoor R&D facility and a chance to see their watering systems in action. Walls and walls of basil, grown vertically, are one of the star attractions there. These walls require minimal space and are efficiently lit by LEDs. The basil itself is big business in South Korea and fetches a pretty high price of around $50 per kilo.

Demonstrating that profitable crops such as basil can be grown affordably in space-saving watering systems is essential for Griin. Doing so meets company’s key aims of enabling small and medium-scale farmers to thrive regardless of their acreage, or even their access to land. As Jason would find out, South Koreans grow in a very particular set of circumstances, some of which make indoor cultivation a great option.

Scarcity of available land and the domination of the sector by a few vast farms means that smaller South Korean cultivators are really up against it. That’s by no means a phenomenon exclusive to South Korea. Unusually however, what aspiring South Korean farmers do have in their favour are incredibly low electricity rates. With unit prices of around 0.007 cents per kW, indoor growing really has the potential to flourish.

Indoor growing is also more capable of capturing the lucrative market in crops grown under controlled conditions. True, floorspace comes at a premium. But South Koreans have long embraced verticality and have ready access to the manufacturing required for any kind of watering system, more examples of which were on show at Griin’s lettuce and strawberry farms.

Even in the short time he was there Jason quickly became aware that South Koreans are ‘crazy on strawberries’. The market for these triangular treats is wild and pretty resistant to price fluctuations. However, one thing South Korean strawberries are not particularly resistant to are the local weather conditions, especially when grown outdoors. 

Indoors, happily ensconced in Griin’s dripper-based watering system, the strawbs’ looked like they were having the times of their lives. Similarly, Griin’s lettuces, thrusting and lively in the company’s hydro system greenhouses. All intriguing and a treat to see, ‘but where are the AutoPots?’, y’all ask.

Well, our technology stands to be inside Griin’s space-saving systems in the coming years. On a business level this was the crux of Jason’s trip, to review Griin’s designs, share some expertise, and build the relationship. Francisco already has a mooted vertical system featuring AutoPot under 20 year patent and we’re delighted to say that the plans look stellar. Griin know our systems inside-out as they’ve been growing with and supplying AutoPot to the South Korean market for some time. This includes a foray into the home-growing sector which has brought about another tantalising collaboration.

Running in tandem with the crossover farming systems are plans to develop some rather special 1Pot modules for the general public. These standalone, self-contained models have been specially conceived with the needs of South Korean home growers in mind. As Francisco told Jason, for many middle-class South Koreans their only available growing spaces are the windows or balconies of their apartment buildings. Therefore we’re looking to incorporate the reservoir into the module itself, keeping footprint to an absolute minimum. 

Exciting developments debated with gusto by enthusiastic people in superb settings, what more could you wish for? Well, not satisfied with bringing fruit and veg growing indoors, Francisco was insistent on dragging the barbecue in too!

Korean barbecue may be somewhat less dramatic than the tableau that we’ve just suggested, but it is an incredibly tasty bit of dining theatre nonetheless. Discussing our goals over the coals was a lovely way to round off the trip. Our profuse thanks to all the team at Griin for their excellent work and exceptional hospitality. We look forward to bringing you further details of the systems under development in the near future. 

If you live on the other side of the world and you’d like us to send you our MD just before Christmas (or any other UK national holiday) then we’d love to hear from you! It keeps him happy, busy, and sleep deprived, the perfect softener for any ambitious staff requests!