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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • JULY 2017
• DUTCHGREENHOUSES
EURO FOCUS:
SEARCHING FORALTERNATIVES
It is not allowed to use chemicals, andRon, or another
staffmember, is available from 9am to 4pmduring the
week (9am to1pmonSaturday), tooffer advice for any
disease or pest related issues. The grower installs bumble
beeboxes (Naturpol fromKoppert Biological Systems) at
strategic locations for pollination, and releases beneficial
insectswhen necessary. Renters cangrowplants from
seed, but it is alsopossible for them tobuy awide range
of youngplants, withprices starting from around
€0.25 cents.
Almere is ameltingpot of people fromdifferent cultural
backgrounds, whichwas clearly visible in the greenhouse,
which is not only filledwith awide range of traditional
vegetables and fruit trees, but also contains several exotic
fruits (including a couple of banana trees). Just two crops
are excluded -marijuana andpotatoes. It is not allowed to
grow first for obvious reasons, andpotatoes are off the list
for fear of phytophthora spreading to tomatoes.
There are no heatingpipes, but the shading screen
is closedwhen the house temperature falls below 10
degreesC.Water is a crucial factor, and eachplot is
providedwith awater tap. Currently, Ron andhis team
take care of individual allotmentswhile renters take a
summer holiday. The first twoweeks are free. Thereafter,
he charges a nominal fee of €5/week.
Water plays a crucial part in theplan to attract clients
from further away to the greenhouse at Almere – people
that arepossibly only able to visit the greenhouse at the
weekend. New this year is awater giving service, which
Struggling tomake endsmeet, two former Dutch
greenhouse rose growers haveditched the crop for two
rather unorthodox concepts – allotments and cherries
writesStevenVale.
EVERYTHING is possible in a greenhouse is the sloganof
the national Dutch ‘Come in theGreenhouse’ (Kom inde
Kas) event stagedduring the first weekendof April. There
is nobetter proof of this than the twogreenhouses open
for the event near the townof Almere, which are filledwith
allotments and cherries.
Dealing first with the allotments, just imagine taking
several hundredplots and covering themwithglass. Such
a system exists andwhen it opened five years agowas
believed tobe aworld first. Thebrainchildof Dutchman
Ron vanZwet, the grower previouslyworkedwith 6ha of
greenhouse roses. Ron explains hewas paid €0.20 cents/
stemwhile retailers sold the same stem for four times the
price. “I couldhavemade adecent livingwith the higher
pricebut not with €0.20 cents,” he said.
His search for amoreprofitable crop almost took him
down the indoor asparagus and cherry route. However,
he alsopondered the idea of rentingout small plots of
greenhouse space for use as allotments. His ideaswere
receivedpositively by locals, andhis first customers
rented space about five years ago.
Called ‘Onze volkstuinen inde kas’ (Our allotments in
the greenhouse), the concept was so successful that just
a few years later all available spacewas rented, and the
waiting list was growing. The grower decided tomove
a couple of greenhouses further to a larger 16,000sq.m.
construction.
The grow lightswere stripped and sold. So towere the
heatingpipes. The opendayweekend came just two
months after re-locating to the newpremises, which
incidentally is double the size of theprevious one.
The site currently provides space for 200 clients, with
room towelcome another 200. Clients have their own key,
and access to the greenhouse from 8am to 9pm seven
days aweek. Rental prices vary from€20 to€200/month.
€20 covers aplot size of roughly 4m x 2mplot. All crops
must be grownorganically. Compost is freely available.
So too are awide range of tools, including spades and
wheelbarrows, and even string.
Previously, DutchmanRon vanZwet used togrow roses.
After considering indoor asparagusandcherries, he started
theallotment concept five years ago.
