Icelandic Tomato Farm Provides an Oz Experience

Taking a break at Fridheimar Farm after touring waterfalls and geysers made me feel like Dorothy in Oz. Outside, the world was gray with snow blanketing the ground. Inside, vertical rows of cherry tomatoes bombarded my eyes as 1,200 bees imported from Holland buzzed around doing pollinator duties. Pots of green basil and pink geraniums rounded out the riot of color. In the 78-degree heat, I rapidly shed my coat, scarf, hat, fleece jacket and gloves.

Fridheimar  Farm is in the southern part of Iceland just off the popular Golden Circle route and about an hour’s drive from Reykjavik, the country’s capital. The farm dates to 1946 but had only two derelict greenhouses in 1995 when agronomist Knutur Armann and his wife, Helena Hermundrdottir, a horticulturist, bought it. The couple met in college with a dream of owning their own farm. Fridheimar translates to “world peace.”

Today, the farm boasts nine glass greenhouses with 30,000 tomato plants producing a ton of hydroponic tomatoes a day sold only in Iceland. Four varieties of tomatoes are grown without pesticides, picked daily and trucked to Icelandic groceries and restaurants. The farm provides 39% of the country’s tomato crop.

Cucumbers, lettuce, basil and other herbs are also grown on site. The farm owners breed Icelandic horses in stables adjacent to the greenhouses. From one employee in 1995 the staff has grown to 70, including the owners’ five children.

In 2008, the farm began welcoming tourists from around the globe. Visitors now exceed 180,000 people a year -- a number equal to nearly half the population of Iceland. In addition to the greenhouse, tourists come to pet winter-hardy Icelandic horses and see them race around a track using their five gaits.

In 2012, the farm added a restaurant to an original greenhouse. Guests enjoy dining in the midst of giant tomato plants and also learn about the tomato operation. The tomato-centric menu features tomato soup served with crusty bread, tomato beer, salads, pasta with homemade tomato sauce, and tomato ice cream.  

Two natural assets make Iceland perfect for greenhouse farming:

•     Readily available geothermal heat provided by the country’s 200 volcanoes.

•     An abundance of pure spring water for irrigation.

At the farm, a bore hole 656 feet away provides an unending supply of 203-degree water for geothermal heat. Spring water pure enough for drinking is pumped to tomato vines through hoses. Carbon dioxide from natural steam is trucked to the farm to help improve photosynthesis. Weather stations on greenhouse roofs connect to computers and make it easy to adjust the internal environment

Tomato vines grow vertically and climb 10 feet high. Geothermal power makes it economical to keep greenhouse lights burning 17 hours a day in winter when sunlight is scarce. Each bee pollinates up to 2,000 tomato flowers a day, and bee colonies are replaced every six to eight weeks.

Iceland’s first greenhouses date to 1924. Today there are 60 greenhouse farmers growing most of the produce consumed in their country. Besides tomatoes, popular crops are lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, strawberries and mushrooms. Some farmers even grow bananas. Potato farmers don’t use greenhouses but take advantage of pockets of geothermal heat that naturally warm the ground and extend the growing season. 

True confession: I have never liked tomatoes. But, after sampling Fridheimer’s freshly picked cherry tomatoes and sipping a mug of hot tomato soup, I changed my mind.

Should the Norfolk Master Gardeners’ greenhouse team want to take a field trip to study Iceland’s greenhouses, count me in!

For more information and reservations visit https://fridheimar.is/en/tourist-services/.