Holderhof relies entirely on its own organic herbs

Sourcing raw materials is a major challenge for a beverage manufacturer with such a broad product range as Holderhof. It is therefore a good thing to keep the supply chain in your own hands as far as possible. This applies to the tea herbs. With a cultivation area of over 16 hectares on its own farm in Niederwil, Holderhof is one of the largest growers in Switzerland in this area. However, cultivating peppermint, nettles or lemon balm & co. is anything but easy. They need enough light and space to develop fully in the field. This is why weed control is a major expense. Holderhof is certified organic and therefore takes an environmentally friendly approach. In concrete terms, this means regular hoeing with special equipment and weeding by hand.

Special crop rotation is necessary

The agricultural team led by farm manager Remo Knöpfel has acquired expertise in herb cultivation over the past few years. This also includes the development of a special crop rotation focussed on herbs. But why is this needed at all? For one thing, the soil must be able to recover in between, for example by sowing a perennial meadow between the herbs. On the other hand, pests or fungal diseases in particular can spread in the soil if the same plant remains in the same place for too long. Peppermint, thyme, sage and lemon balm belong to the labiate family. To minimise the spread of diseases, they should therefore not be grown in succession. Herbs from another family, such as nettles or composite plants, are better in the crop rotation. New possibilities will open up here from next year, as Holderhof is expanding its range of herbs to include yarrow, camomile, marigolds and mallow, for example.

As much mechanisation as possible

In order to keep the production costs of the herbs low, Holderhof relies on as much mechanisation as possible. For example, the Fobro-Mobile regularly drives through the rows with its special hoeing equipment, sometimes even in winter, to prevent the weeds from growing. However, this becomes more difficult the larger the plant gets during the season. That’s why a few hours of hand weeding are usually necessary from then on. This is necessary so that the crops grow with as few weeds as possible. This is because they are harvested with a slightly adapted commercial harvesting trolley, which is otherwise also used for cutting grass. The harvest is transported from the field to the conveyor belts of the company’s own drying plant within minutes. There, the moisture is gently extracted, with maximum preservation of flavour, of course. Dried and chopped, the organic herbs are now ready for the production of the company’s own iced tea drinks at the production site in Henau. True to the company motto “From the field to the bottle”. Herbs not used by the company itself are sold on to the rest of the food industry.

Holderhof ice tea production on film

The freshly harvested organic herbs are dried in our own facility.