“ The Danish market for vanilla extract is quite big , with nearly every supermarket selling vanilla extract beans . The normal price for one turgid bonce is 120 - 150 krone , and some people scrape out the inside of the beans to get the sweet contents , ” says Ann Sofie Forssling , Founder of Dansk Vanilje .
Ann Sofie Forssling
Dansk Vanilje is an indoor farm in Denmark that is looking to grow vanilla extract in closed environment . As Ann explains , the container has been equip with LED lighting , ventilation , heating and dehumidification scheme so as to create the perfect environs for the vanilla orchidaceous plant .
Whereas the leafy commons and other crops typically seen in vertical husbandry often take less than a calendar month to grow , vanilla orchids can take up to three years to produce flowers when starting with a metre - retentive vine . This have vanilla extract a fairly gamy - risk crop for the upright farming industry , which is already clamber with high operating costs and often low restitution .
“ We are take off with a very small production site to learn how to do this without it costing a lot . There is a lot of learning to do with respect to the mood , flower initiation , dirt and wet , etc . , ” says Ann .
With respect to florescence , the doubt is whether you simply need to wait three years or if efflorescence can also be accelerated by providing a moth-eaten or dry period of time . In a closed surround , the mood can well be modified to create cold , dry conditions to brace unfolding . Ann explains that they involve to keep the relative humidity gamy enough to foreclose the air roots from drying .
Currently Ann Sofie is conducting a lighting test with blue sparkle on the one side , and flushed light on the other side of the container
So , how do you grow vanilla extract indoors?Vanilla orchidaceous plant are improbable liana plant that can grow to 30 meters in length , vining around trees or other support . At Dansk Vanilje , the use of artificial trees allow the vine to climb as it normally would and pull moisture that has condensed on the tree diagram . Dansk Vanilje has also installed guide top inflammation and inter - lighting solutions to insure uniform light stage throughout the canopy , although orchids do not require as high a abstemious degree as other horticultural crops . The society is try out with both red - blue and broad - spectrum inflammation .
In a recently built 200m2 farm facility , Ann Sofie house various seedlings and youthful plants
As orchid are CAM plants , they take in carbon dioxide during the night to then photosynthesize during the day . While Dansk Vanilje is monitoring carbon dioxide level and has an enrichment system , they apply it very little as the plant ’ atomic number 6 dioxide needs are low . Dansk Vanilje has also equipped the container with various environmental sensing element to track the temperature , humidity , C dioxide and light levels in the space .
While Dansk Vanilje would like to be certify organic , it simply is n’t possible at this power point since the plants are originate in a mixture of peat , coco and bark rather than the surface soil .
A vanilla plant seedling
Harvesting : hardly the last step in vanilla productionBut let ’s fast - forward three years into the production cycle when Dansk Vanilje will have its first homegrown vanilla extract pods . Even then , the challenge has only just begun . Once vanilla extract flowers are pollenate , it choose 8 - 10 calendar month for the seedcase to reach full due date , at which percentage point the bean is still unripened . Vanilla bonce are harvested gullible and then undergo a ripen catamenia of 2 - 3 months during which the beans are unendingly turned to develop the proper color and taste sensation . Thereafter the beans have to dry out for another 3 - 4 months .
Ideally , this ripening catamenia occurs outside under full sun exposure . However , Ann observe that the authorities in Denmark will not allow for the drying of vanilla edible bean outside due to safety issues , forcing Dansk Vanilje to “ soft cure ” beans indoors . This can have a negative effect on flavor ontogenesis , ledge liveliness and pathogen increment . The company is thus looking for unspoilt ways to cure their vanilla beans that match local regulation without blockade product quality .
Importing plant life material remains a challengeAnother regulative hurdle facing Dansk Vanilje is the import of plant material into the European Union . Dansk Vanilje has twenty goodish plants which were obtain from Wageningen University but in 2021 , Dansk Vanilje purchased 200 vanilla extract orchid press clipping from Tanzania and had the space ready for implant before invite the news : the 200 cutting would not be allowed into the EU . The 200 - square metre production readiness was empty for four months as a result , waiting for plants that would never come .
plentitude of room for expansion left !
Three weeks ago , Ann did finagle to pick up 50 plants from Slovenia which were not the healthy but are better than nothing . Ann has also prescribe 200 small plants from tissue culture and is working on lining up the paperwork to guarantee their entrance within the next three months .
For more information : Ann Sofie Forssling , FounderDansk Vanilje+45 9383 5156[email protect ]
© FloralDaily.com/Rebekka Boekhout
