Biodigester
Our big, beautiful bio-digester is the heart of Fat Beet Farm.
Sustainable Initiatives
How Our Biodigester Works
The biodigester breathes life into all corners of our farm and allows us to grow a bounty of food while also replenishing the land sustainably.All our food waste from our kitchen, and crops is “fed” to the mouth of our digester and is ground into a pulp and mixed with water. The food waste slurry is then pumped into the first tank to begin the digestion process. As anaerobic enzymes break down the food, it bubbles over into the second tank to finish the digestion process.Everything is completely digested within 24 hours. The two amazing outputs that we collect from the bio-digester are a nutrient-dense natural fertilizer slurry and methane gas. The slurry allows grow everything on the farm without any chemical fertilizers, and the methane can be used for cooking or running generators.
Rain Collection
Water conservation is one of the most important initiatives we’ve tackled because it provides a valuable resource for our crops.
Rain Collection at Fat Beet Farm
Rain collection is essential for the success of our Farm. Our many tanks, totaling over 35,000 gallons, run our multiple grow systems, soil farming, & our Bio-digester. Without capturing the rain from our Florida storms, our farm would not be able to sustain our water needs. Our farm sits right on our beautiful Tampa Bay, making all of our ground water too salty to use – furthering our water needs. Water is the life-force of our farm & nothing is more exciting to our team than watching a storm roll in, our approaching rain harvest.
Reclamation Ecology
We have a large wetland marsh right at the heart of the Fat Beet Farm!
Wetland Ecology
Freshwater wetlands are an integral part of our Florida Ecology. Although more than half of our original Florida wetlands have disappeared, we have a large wetland marsh right at the heart of the Fat Beet Farm.
From weeding out invasive species to protecting baby bird nests, we do everything we can to maintain and preserve this beautiful piece of land.
Wildlife
These wetlands are vital to countless native plant and animal species, and many depend on each other for survival. More than a third of our country’s threatened and endangered species reside in wetland areas. Because numerous birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles use these areas as breeding grounds, it is essential that we preserve and protect them to ensure the survival of our native species.
Water
The porous spongy soils on wetland floors are incredibly helpful for water management. During Florida’s often torrential rains wetlands can soak up a ton of excess water, which can greatly help mitigate flooding. They are also essential to our drinking supply; sometimes called “nature’s kidneys,” wetlands filter and purify water before it sinks into the limestone aquifer that supplies the majority of our potable water in the state.
Coastal Conservation
At Fat Beet Farm we understand that we are responsible for maintaining our fragile coastline ecosystem. Our brackish water canal is lined by many mangrove species and salt marshes crawling with fiddler crabs. A rainbow of different wetland birds spend their days flying above or roosting in the shelter of native bushes and trees. Florida coastline management is vitally important for wildlife habitats, water quality, and hurricane resistance, so we protect our shoreline through restoration initiatives.
We refuse to use any chemical fertilizers, we always remove invasive plant species, and we will introduce measures that reduce the occurrence of red tide. Some of our goals include developing a thriving habitat for shallow water fish by aerating our lagoon, keeping our canal clean and free from litter all the way out to the bay, and launching an oyster recycling and renewal initiative.
Learn more about how we do our regenerative agriculture through composting and vermiculture.
Vermiculture & Soil Enrichment
We depend on vermiculture and regenerative practices to transform our land into the fertile earth that our plants love.
Soil Enrichment
In Florida we are presented with unique growing challenges. The soil is often very sandy and flooding/puddling is common; small pests and pesky insects are abundant as well. By layering a multitude of organic materials into the soil, we can work through these challenges to transform our land into an agricultural wonderland.
There are many natural ways to fix soil without chemical additions. By adding layers of dead plant matter, compost, bio-digester slurry, and worm castings, we can greatly improve the vitality of the soil. These amendments add various nutrients to our dirt and plants without the use of chemical fertilizers, increase water drainage, and attract all of the microorganisms we need beneath the surface of our gardens and trees.
Composting
Composting is a process in which organic materials (food waste, plant matter, manure) break down in a pile over time and slowly transform into black, odorless, beautiful soil that is full of thriving microorganisms and nutrients. At Fat Beet, compost is our primary “soil builder.” Compared to our inherited Florida sandy soils, it has more oxygen flow, more lively microorganisms, and is overall better for plants to grow in. We are always adding more compost into all of our growing spaces to continually mend the soil into black gold.
Vermiculture
Vermiculture, or worm farming, creates another form of compost that significantly helps the quality of our soil. We have designed a system in which we can recycle cow and horse manure from our surrounding farms that would have been thrown away, and use it as food for our worms. The worms breakdown the manure along with farm waste products to create worm castings. The worm castings are packed full of nutrients for all of our crops and are considered a “living soil”. We also often add some live worms into our growing soil, which allows the worms to continually produce more castings for us beneath our crops!
Learn more about our big, beautiful bio-digester; the heart of Fat Beet Farm.
Solar
At Fat Beet, we are able to power all of our farming activities with solar power!
Solar Power
Harnessing power from our mighty Florida sun, allows us to minimize our energy usage. We currently have a 90-panel solar array on property, which runs our microgreens grow rooms, our aquaponic system, and our lettuce grow house with clean energy.
Activities At Fat Beet
Our extensive tours offer a behind-the-scenes look at how our farm operates. While on our tour, you will be able to view our vegetable gardens, compost, chickens, biodigester, bees, microgreens, preservation areas, and more! And, after the tour, you will have the opportunity to shop at our market or take home a fresh hot farm meal!