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Harvest Here: a revolutionary aquaponics food-growing system created in Leicestershire
We recently met John Holland – a farmer, passionate locavore and former Jaguar engineer who once led the carmaker’s self-driving project in collaboration with Google. Today, from his base at Holland’s Nurseries in Twyford, John is applying his engineering skills to a brilliant new food-growing system called Harvest Here.
This innovative system uses aquaponics to produce delicious rainbow trout alongside vibrant, chemical-free herbs and vegetables, all within a compact, closed-loop setup. It’s clean, efficient and sustainable – perfect for restaurants, pubs or farm shops keen to grow their own ingredients on-site.
Here’s how it works. Trout arrive as tiny fingerlings and are placed in large pools, where they’re carefully fed and allowed to grow. The wastewater they produce, rich in nutrients, is diverted into a separate vat. There, a natural biological process transforms it into nitrate-rich water, which irrigates the herbs and vegetables at the touch of a button. The result? Stunningly fresh produce and beautiful fish – some of which John is hot-smoking in partnership with Melton Mowbray’s Feast and Furious.
John’s vision is ambitious. He wants to help boost UK food security by making it easier for us all to grow our own. Initially, his Harvest Here systems are aimed at restaurants, pubs, cafés and farm shops, but the plan is to later roll them out for domestic use. His concern is clear: the UK is increasingly reliant on imported vegetables that could be grown here, and Harvest Here is designed to be a practical solution.
John Holland
What impressed us most during our visit was not just the ingenuity of the system, but John’s passion and energy. It’s easy to see how pubs and restaurants could benefit hugely – with a constant supply of fresh herbs, vegetables and fish for their kitchens, plus an inspiring project for their teams to get involved in.
John says: “Harvest Here is a really simple concept: let’s produce amazing, sustainable, nutritious, tasty food at the location where it’s consumed. By growing food where it’s eaten, we eliminate food miles, refrigeration and single-use packaging.
“With Harvest Here, you never need to use artificial fertiliser. The only input is fish food – and 1.1kg of fish food produces 1kg of fish protein, the most efficient conversion in the natural world.
“When you see the Harvest Here label, it says: we grew it over there — cutting out the costly middle section of the supply chain. A resilient local food supply doesn’t just feed families — it leads to a more stable and peaceful world.”
We share John’s excitement for Harvest Here. It’s about more than food – it’s about reconnecting with how it’s grown and taking back control of what ends up on our plates.
