Cairo, Egypt · Pesticide-Free · Hydroponic

Good food starts with how it's grown.

Fresh produce grown in Cairo using hydroponics and beneficial insects.

Grown by Nourie.

Nourie smiling in the greenhouse, with rows of lettuce and basil growing behind her

The founder

Hi, I'm Nourie.

Nourie working among tomato seedlings in the greenhouse

My grandpa has run this farm for years. I grew up around it without thinking much about it — until I got interested in nutrition and wellness, and started asking where food actually comes from.

That question led me back to his farm. At 16, I took over a small piece of it and started growing hydroponically: no soil, just nutrient-rich water and a lot of trial and error.

"I started by talking about food. Then I wanted to understand it. Then I started growing it."

I've gotten good at noticing when something's off — a plant growing slower than it should, aphids showing up somewhere they shouldn't. Instead of reaching for a pesticide, I bring in the bug that actually eats the problem.

The farm is still growing. So am I.

Currently growing

What's actually growing right now

Updated as the harvest changes.

Harvest Ready Close-up of lettuce growing in the greenhouse

Lettuce

Crunchy, and taking over the greenhouse.

Growing

Cucumbers

The cucumbers are cucumbering.

Harvest Ready Red-stemmed chard growing in a net cup

Chard

Possibly the prettiest thing here.

Coming Soon Tomato seedling staked and growing in the greenhouse

Tomatoes

Still green, already planning the packaging.

Harvest Ready Basil, one of the leafy greens growing in the hydroponic system

Basil

Fresh-cut and full of flavor.

The good bugs

No pesticide sprays.
So what do we do about bugs?

We get other bugs.

It's called biological pest control: every pest has a natural predator, so instead of spraying, we introduce that predator and let it do the hunting. I scout the plants for early signs of pests, then bring in the insect that actually eats that pest — the population stays balanced without a single chemical spray.

Nourie checking a leaf sample under the microscope

Field notes: figuring out what's eating what

Ladybugs

Aphids cluster on new growth and drain the plant's sap. One ladybug can eat dozens a day.

Lacewings

The larvae do the real work, hunting down aphids and mites long before they grow wings.

Predatory Mites

Too small to see with the eye, so we check for them under the microscope instead.

Parasitic Wasps

They lay eggs inside pest insects, stopping an outbreak before it starts.

How we grow

From seed to plate,
know what's in between.

Grow hydroponically

Plants go into NFT channels or Dutch buckets — no soil.

Trays of young seedlings, ready to go into the system

Monitor the plants

Checking leaves, roots, and whatever's happening that day.

Inspecting a lettuce leaf growing in the tray

Bring in the good bugs

Beneficial insects handle pests instead of a spray.

A lettuce leaf held up and checked closely

Let them grow

This part just takes time.

Lettuce settling into the hydroponic channel

Harvest

Picked only when it's ready.

The systems

Three ways we grow

Rows of lettuce growing in the NFT hydroponic system

For the leafy stuff

NFT — Nutrient Film Technique

A thin stream of nutrient water runs past the roots, nonstop. This is where our lettuce and chard grow.

For the bigger stuff

Dutch Buckets

Bigger plants get their own bucket and supply line — tomatoes and cucumbers grow here.

The original way

Soil

Not everything is hydroponic — some of the farm is still grown the regular way, straight in the ground.

Questions people actually ask

FAQ

What does pesticide-free mean at Nourished?+

We don't spray conventional pesticides. We lean on beneficial insects instead. We're not certified organic.

Can I order produce?+

Not yet — that's part of where this is headed.

Where is Nourished?+

Cairo, Egypt.