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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • JULY 2017
DUTCHGREENHOUSES •
Oneof the smaller plots, andbehind it there isplentyof
room towelcomeanother 200new tenants.
Plot sizeandprice varies, and 200plots in the16,000sq.m.
greenhousearecurrently rented.
dependingonplot sizewill seeplantswatered for a
monthly fee, prices of which start from €9/month.
Since starting the ‘Allotments in the greenhouse’ concept,
several other Dutchgrowers have visited the site, and at
least twoof them have started similar projects near The
Hague andRotterdam.
Given the increasingpopularity, then it is quitepossible a
nationwide network coulddevelop. Ron’s priority is to fill
the current location, but he is also contemplating adding
a new locationnear another largeDutch town/city. The
greenhouse he is looking for probably belongs to a grower
approaching retirement, andpossiblywithout a successor.
Like the current greenhouse, theplan is to rent the next
site on a long-term contract.
Greenhouse cherries
Allotments are not the onlyway forward for someDutch
growers, and it is suggested around 20of them have
ditched former crops in favour of cherries, the total area
currently covering around 12ha. 1.25ha of thesebelong
toCeesHerbert and sonPatrick, the area of whichwas
previously used togrow roses. Alsoopen for visitors to
theKom indeKas event, the locationwas just a short
drive from the allotment project.
The twomen considered asparagus as anoption, but
decided that cherriesmademore economic sense, but
poor priceswere not the only reason the twomenwere
looking for somethingdifferent. “Wewanted tobe closer
to the customer, and tell them a story,” saidPatrick.
“Cherries bring us indirect contact withour customers
and it is very easy to tell them the story.”
The familymoved to the current location in 2000, and
the greenhouse is believed tobe themostmodern
currently used togrow cherries. Operating asKersen
Boertje (Cherry Farmer) the higher levels of natural light
transmissionmean that theHerbert family’s cherries are
roughly aweek earlier to ripen than cherries inother Dutch
greenhouses.
Patrick explains that the grow lights in the nurserywere
stripped and sold. This helped finance thepurchase of
many 3-4-year-old trees, which incidentallywere grown in
pots. Re-planted in the family’s greenhouse inDecember
2015, these trees produced fruit last year.
The grower admits hewould like to use honey bees for
pollination, but decided against this because of the low
house temperature. “Bumblebees fly atmuch cooler
temperatures,” he adds.
The greenhouse is filledwith a range of different varieties
tohelp stretch the season, and the rows are filledwith
varieties includingKordia, Schneider andMerchant.
The twomen are still trying todecidewhich varieties
performbest under glass. “Some trees only produce 500g
of fruit while others asmuch as 8ktg,” addsPatrick.
Rows are spaced at 4m intervals, and trees are spaced
1.5m in the row. The 7-8-week harvest generally runs from
mid-May to the endof June/early July, just before outdoor
crop is available, and average indoor yields vary from 10
to12tph.
Theburningquestionnow concerns the returns on
indoor cherries?Outdoor cropprices average around
€6/kg, while indoor crop commands prices of €10-12/
kg. But higher prices are sometimepaid. TakeKordia,
for example. This is themost popular indoor cherry, and
prices often rise to around€15/kg.
Even so, the returns are not high enough to support
two families, andoutside of thepicking season (when
some casual labour is required) there is plenty of time
inbetweenweeding andpruning for Patrick to combine
indoor cherrieswith another job.
Looking ahead, the twomen continue to explore all
avenues to sell their produce, which could ultimately
include apick your ownday at the endof the season.
