Gourma, a fresh herb grower in Québec, is investing more than $25 million (Canadian) in a new hectare of greenhouses at its Saint-Norbert site. The company says the new glasshouses will set the standard for how it grows from now on.
Gourma, which recently rebranded from Herbes gourmandes, grows basil, chives, coriander, mint, parsley and more than a dozen other herbs and leafy greens for supermarkets across Québec. According to HortiDaily, construction began this summer, and the new greenhouses are due to start production in early 2027.
“We’re not just building new greenhouses,” said Charles Verdy, President of Gourma. “We’re building what we believe will be the model for greenhouse production in the decades ahead.”
What’s going in
- Semi-closed glass greenhouses, a first for Gourma. They recirculate some of the inside air to save energy and make better use of CO₂.
- Electric heat pumps, expected to meet nearly 75% of the new greenhouses’ heating needs
- An automated germination chamber built by Finland’s Green Automation, which handles crop rotation for several herb varieties in a controlled environment
- Rainwater collection, expected to cut municipal water use by about 20%
- Recirculated nutrient solutions, to reduce inputs
Québec greenhouse engineering firm Gobeil Dion & Associés is supporting the design.
The carbon savings
Gourma expects the new greenhouses to emit about 1,800 tonnes less CO₂ a year than they would with fossil-fuel heating. The company plans to convert the whole Saint-Norbert complex to electric heat pumps by 2027, avoiding nearly 3,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions a year.
“We’re showing that innovation, energy efficiency and local food production can go hand in hand,” Verdy said.
Why it matters
Herbs are a high-value, year-round crop that’s hard to import fresh over long distances, so local production makes sense. Québec’s low-carbon hydroelectric grid also makes heat pumps an unusually good fit there. Combined with semi-closed glass and automation, Gourma’s project is a clear example of how a mid-sized grower can cut both emissions and costs.
Image Credit: Harnois Greenhouses
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