How much land area is needed for a wasabi farm?
This is one of the most common questions I get asked after how much does it cost, and can I grow wasabi where I live.
The amount of land you need depends on the number of wasabi plants you want to grow, but nearly everyone forgets about the ancillary services, such as water collection, water reticulation and environment control. You also need to add the requirement for somewhere (a pond, or drainage ditch) where you can dispose of either used or unwanted water.
Let us look at the growing area first, because that is the easiest.
Land area required = number of plants /10 x 1 square metre for metric measurements (x 10 square feet for imperial measurements) + 20%
That will give you an estimate for the growing area, now we need to add an equipment shed and that size depends on how much equipment you have.
Here are some rough guides for the size of the equipment shed;
Up to 200 plants – 2 sq metre
Up to 5000 plants – 10 sq metres
Up to 10000 plants – 20 sq metres
Then you also need space for water collection, and if you are recirculating the water then you will need space for the same size tanks. These tanks can be above or below ground as required.
There are a few ways of making better use of the land area but most people can’t be bothered, so those numbers will suit most people to start with.
In some of our growing area we have achieved significantly more plants in a 2000 sq metre area than most, and still produce the very highest quality crops. These areas are better designed and more technologically advanced than the majority of wasabi growers have, and are more expensive to set up but produce a much better return on investment (ROI). In one case we were growing 80,000 plants in a 2000 sq metre area and we believe we could double that with a bit more investment in design and other resources.
Don’t forget that you will also need a place to dispose of unwanted plant material and other growing materials.
If you decide that you want to pack and distribute your own product, then you will need a storage space and working area for the packing material. Access for vehicles will also be needed for the construction and use of the growing area.
When you start getting into commercial quantities then the land area starts getting large fairly quickly.
Decide on the number of plants you want to grow and draw a sketch to see if all the bits will fit – do this before you buy a piece of land. 🙂