Aqua Greens grows herb business

Pablo Alvarez

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Craig Petten and Pablo Alvarez have built their aquaponics business with the help of Ontario’s restaurants.  

Almost two years since they started, the aquaponic-grown greens will be hitting retail shelves, but the duo pledges not to forget its early supporters.

Alvarez and Petten each clocked about two decades of experience in foodservice before enrolling in sustainable energy and buildings technology at Humber College. Their final project was on aquaponics after researching sustainable food systems around the world.

“It just makes sense because aquaponics is probably the closest thing we have to nature — we’re basically mimicking nature indoors,” said Alvarez.

The process combines hydroponics and aquaculture. Plants, fish and light work together to create a nutrient-rich system similar to a pond, Alvarez explained.  

“It’s an enclosed system where the fish feed the plants and the plants clean and filter the water back to the fish,” he said.

The process starts with the fish, which are fed each morning. They excrete ammonia through their gills and waste, which starts the nitrification process. The plant roots absorb the nutrients.

The system creates 12 of the 15 nutrients needed to grow plants (calcium, potassium and iron are added) and does so faster (within 28 days) than soil-based agriculture.

Alvarez had never farmed prior to launching Aqua Greens and said it has been a learning process to develop a mature, stable system.

“Something that nature does flawlessly, I’ll tell you right now, is very challenging to mimic indoors,” he said.   

In 3,000 square feet in a Mississauga, Ont., industrial park, Alvarez and Petton have the capacity to grow 12,000 plants and keep 5,000 fish.

“The beauty of aquaponics is you have two revenue streams, you have the fish and you have the plants,” said Alvarez, adding they plan to focus on the plants for the time being.

They don’t want to upset the balance and “fish are the engine of the system,” he explained. As they grow, and plans call for them to move into a larger space in the coming years, Alvarez said they may consider selling the tilapia as well. For now, the plants are enough to keep up with.  

“The restaurants that we deal with right now, they want our fish,” he said.

The beauty of indoor aquaponics is the availability of year-round local produce, something the restaurant community appreciates. Aqua Greens supplies about a dozen chefs and restaurants with its basil, and various other greens, including Buca, Hockley Valley Resort, Cibo and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Catering.

“They’ve all been amazing, but there have been certain [chefs] that have believed in us from the beginning,” Alvarez said. “This doesn’t work unless we surround ourselves with people who share our vision … everyone we work with from seed to harvest.”

Alvarez called the grocery channel a smart move as far as proving a viable business model, although it also comes with more work, such as processing and packaging.

They currently deliver live plants with roots intact.

The grocery channel presents the opportunity for consistent orders for the urban farmers and will receive about two thirds of Aqua Greens’ harvest while one third will remain for foodservice.

The pair will also continue growing microgreens, which Alvarez said are very popular with chefs.

“It’s amazing dealing with chefs and restaurants; they love the fact we can deliver 365 days a year. In the middle of winter in January, it’s -40 C, we’re delivering organic local greens,” he said.

“Within the last two years, we’ve learned a lot and we’re going to keep learning.”