David Soo has worked out a way to grow vanilla vines at Woongarrah on the Central Coast in a bubble-wrap dome that some believe represents the future of farming.

Vanilla beans come from orchids.

"Each vine generally only produces one flower per day and the flowers only last for 12 hours," David said.

"The Mexican micro bee is the only bee that knows how to pollinate vanilla vines, but it usually covers only 2 per cent to 6 per cent of the flowers."

As such, the flowers are hand pollinated using the same method that a 12-year-old slave developed in 1841.

The pollination, drying and fermenting of vanilla can make its production a long and painstaking process.

The dome can hold 200 vines that can each grow 20 metres long - the equivalent of four kilometres of vines, yielding about 40,000 beans per harvest.

When it comes to spice prices, vanilla is second only to saffron.

The nature of the vanilla market means prices can soar - they went as high as US$600 a kilogram recently. But prices can be volatile and have been known to plummet, amid instability in Madagascar.

About 80 per cent of the world's vanilla is grown in Madagascar. Given the nature of the market, most of the world's demand for vanilla is met by artificial products, sold as vanilla essence on supermarket shelves.

"The beans are a far superior product. The vanilla we produce is more concentrated," David said.

He said the price was part of the incentive to grow vanilla beans, but a greater incentive was using Australian research to produce the world's best vanilla.

About 18,000 products contain vanilla, including beauty products, but David is mainly focused on supplying the food industry.

"As our product is the highest quality, we are seeking to supply directly to chefs, ice cream companies, boutique cake- and pastry-makers and other producers of fine foods," he said.

The dome, which is 11 metres in diameter, protects the crops from extreme weather, which can kill the vines. The dome can withstand 160-kilometre winds, rain and hail.

"The dome is constructed from galvanised steel tubing and a special type of bubble wrap," he said.

He said dome greenhouses complement traditional agriculture, but also represent "the future of horticulture".

Rotating trellises grow the vines vertically and turn them towards and away from sunlight, so they receive the "perfect amount of sun of each day".

The dome is considered sustainable for its water efficiency, low energy use, good humidity and ideal air circulation.

It has an automatic system, developed by Schneider Electric, that creates a tropical climate through vents, misting and heating systems, irrigation and humidity.

David says he loves the taste of vanilla, which he describes as "unique, exotic and refreshing".

"When added to other foods it has a wonderful fragrance. I'm certainly not alone as vanilla is still the most popular ice cream."

Alas, vanilla isn't so plain after all.

Two school students donned capes to serenade Newcastle Herald education reporter Helen Gregory on Friday, with a hip-hop-style R&B song.

The aim of the singing telegram was to get the media intrigued about the upcoming production, 365 Questions, Issues and Good Deeds, which is heading to Civic Theatre soon. The students, Lily Baines and Patrick Howlett, gave Helen her very own cape. Plus, they gave her a bacon and egg roll which, in our experience at least, is a sure-fire way to a woman's heart. Just don't forget the sauce.