Labour challenges
Farming is an innately labour-intensive industry. With the advent of greenhouse technology leading to increased yields and better quality crops, labour has remained just
Growing under cover in Africa
I’m writing my first column for In Greenhouses sitting in the departure lounge at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The reason for my three-day trip
Olympic gold
For (European) sport enthusiasts 2016 was a great year: UEFA Euro 2016, the Tour de France and the Olympic Games. From the Dutch perspective
Inventive system extracts CO2 out of the air for greenhouse horticulture
The Swiss start-up Climeworks is developing a system that extracts CO2 out of the air for greenhouse horticulture purposes. The system will be tested during
‘Algae are the vegetables for the future.’
Although they only started growing fresh algae commercially less than a year ago, Hendrik Staarink and his partner Stefano Canziani are fully confident about
Food safety and quality critical success factors in online sales
Key points for attention in the online sale of fruit and vegetables are quality and food safety. Another factor to take into consideration is
Alumat Zeeman’s Green Boys Network
‘Of course we export. Out of all the greenhouses in the world, you can be assured that 80 per cent have their origins in
How Dutch Sprouts wants to conquer the world
Henri Hekman was major shareholder of the BLGG Group, the leading laboratory for soil analysis. In 2013 he sold the company to Eurofins. But
‘More than anything else, we simply want to remain the best.’
In the course of the past 50 years, the BOM Group has developed from an innovative greenhouse builder, heating systems installer and screening specialist
‘The ornamental plant niche has grown very quickly.’
JEM-id is based in Honselersdijk and develops websites and software. Ninety-five per cent of its clients are active in the fresh produce and ornamental
Online sale of fresh produce promising and challenging
The online market for fresh produce and ornamental plants is growing. However, while the ornamental plant sector is making giant steps forward in this
‘Tasty Tom is mentioned in the same breath as Chiquita and Zespri’
Tasty Tom has been around for twenty years, during which period this flavourful fruit has grown into a renowned brand and a standard of
‘A good growing climate produces healthier plants.’
Royal Pride is one of the few companies in Holland that is allowed to display the Milieukeurmerk (Dutch quality mark), so the bar on
Increasing range of plant strengtheners available
Manufacturers and horticultural suppliers alike have been expressing increasing interest in the development and market for plant strengtheners. A whole series of products based
Plant resilience is becoming the new standard
Resilient crops and robust cultivation systems are in the spotlight these days. We want plants that are tough enough to withstand disease from mere
Waiting for the horticulture robot
Robots appear to be the best solution to combat the rising cost of labour. After all, they can work 24 hours a day, without
‘De-leafing curbs energy loss’
Evaporation - and therefore energy loss - can be limited by removing excess foliage. This principle is, however, applied to only a few crop
Mobilising all efforts on the imbalance market
Now that the rates for the return of electricity have dropped lower than ever before, growers will have to make all possible efforts to
‘No greenhouse should be without diffuse glazing, no matter where in the world’
Diffuse light is a hot item in greenhouse horticulture, not in the least thanks to Leo Marcelis. Professor Marcelis conducted research into the benefits
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