HUMPHRIS KEEP GROWING WITH NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART GREENHOUSE

By Matt Ross

Some growers are content to keep doing what they do, what they’ve always done, and doing it well. And there’s nothing wrong with that. For Barry Humphris, owner of Humphris Nursery, he wants to push the envelope, to challenge himself and his team to have a crack.

Inspired by trips to Europe to see how they do things and the scale on which they do it.

“It’s eye opening to visit the European growers and witness the size of their operations and the efficiency of their systems.

The culture of the European consumer, where plants are viewed as a regular purchase, creates a demand to grow on an epic scale.,” said Barry.

And so, having acquired 200 acres of farmland in Woori Yallock, a small village in the Yarra Valley, they commissioned a state-of-the-art French manufactured (Richel), Dutch designed, greenhouse.

Crucially they engaged Powerplants from the outset to advise them on design and specifications of the greenhouse.

“Too often growers will contact us having already purchased a greenhouse and we then have to look to provide retrofit suggestions. Barry engaged us from the outset which meant we could assist him to achieve a custom-built greenhouse that exactly fit his requirements,” said Simon Gomme, Director of Powerplants.

The outcome is a greenhouse designed for flexibility, space utilisation and low running costs.

On entry you’re blown away by the size of it, it covers one hectare. It’s five metres in height which provides a buffer for the plants from the outside environment. There are one kilometre of conveyor belts and side shifting ebb and flow benches which allows potting and dispatch to happen simultaneously anywhere at any time. It’s double skinned with plastic, delivering outstanding insulation for the plants.

It’s double ridged venting, fogging systems, heating and fans, are all controlled by Priva compass using a tablet or phone; all of which means Barry can be enjoying a beer at home whilst monitoring and controlling the heating and cooling.

And all those features have been achieved whilst preserving a 92 per cent space utilisation, it’s a big house that packs a lot in, large walkways don’t generate any income.

And that’s not where the innovation ends. For the first time this fifth-generation nursery, which was established in the 1850’s, are turning their attention to growing indoor plants.

“We could see that the trend for indoor plants was growing. We pride ourselves on being a nursery that have a go. There was also an appetite from the team to start growing indoor plants and when there’s enthusiasm and logic, I listen.”

They had also identified that growing larger indoor plants, predominately 20cm, 25cm and 30cm pots, would mean there are no direct competitors in Victoria, and they wouldn’t be stepping into anyone else’s market.

Like any new endeavour they’re learning as they go and aren’t afraid to take a trial-and-error approach to selecting their forever varieties. Their approach is to select hardy plants that can be grown in large volumes. To date Alocasias, Spathiphyllums, Antheriums, Ficus and Philodendrons, are all growing well and generating plenty of demand.

Barry Humphris couldn’t be happier with the new greenhouse

And whilst, they’re now reaping the rewards of their investment and vision, it felt like the gamble might have backfired when COVID-19 struck.

“I had a few sleepless nights. We’d just acquired the land and built the greenhouse and all of a sudden we were caught up in a global pandemic. I thought we’d blown it.”

Few could have anticipated the positive impact COVID-19 would have on the demand for plantlife in Australia. As a result, rather than the house being an expensive mistake, they’re looking to build an identical one beside it to keep up with demand, with works due to commence in November.

To anyone who knows Baz, none of this will come as a surprise. Always willing to try something new, or ‘have a crack’, as he puts it. In 2004 he thought he’d give retail a crack and acquired Mt Evelyn Garden Centre, in that time it’s been transformed from a basic shed to one of Victoria’s most stunning garden centres.

With 200 acres now to play with, an ambitious growth mindset and a team that embrace new challenges; the future looks very bright for Humphris Nursery. We look forward to seeing what they have a crack at next.