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THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MAY 2018
HORTICONTACT •
Held for the second successive year, theHortiContact tour
is fast becoming a not tomiss event, writesStevenVale.
HELDover threedays at theGorinchem exhibition
complex, theDutchHortiContact show is a great place
tomeet all the country’s important technical companies
and vegetable seedbreeders and catchupon some of
the latest developments. Theday before the show starts,
international visitors have anopportunity to signup for
a tour of some interesting facilities andnurseries in the
Westland area. InPart One of this report we looked at
one of the glasshouses belonging toVander Lans and
visited the recently-openedDutchHorti Center. The tour
continuedwith a visit to thepot plant nursery of SV.CO
(Strijbis Verbeek) at De Lier, and a family business that
can trace its roots back to 1965. Today, the four nurseries
provide 16ha of production area and 120 fulltime jobs.
The four locations grow 100different varieties of pot
plants, including celosia, geraniums, primulas, poinsettia,
lisianthus and chrysanthemums, in six different pot sizes.
Kalanchoe, Europe’s number twopot plant, is currently
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runby director JelleStrijbis. The company’smain claim
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world to install a raised rolling table system. Rolling tables
are the norm today, but in the early 1970swas viewed
as something for thedistant future. The nursery received
visitors from all over theworld keen to have a look at
the LogiqsAgro system, and the 6.5ha site, which still
contains 4,500 rolling tables, was on the agenda of our
visit.Mr Strijbis takes sustainability seriously, andwhere
possible tries tousebiological control, recycledmaterials
for packaging and amaingoal is to further reduce the
use of peat, which is nowdown to10-15%. “We’d like to
reduce it to zerobut we’re not there yet,” he said.
The company director took us through theprocess,
whichbegins at the cuttings stagewhere experienced
staff canpot asmany as 800 anhour. From here, the
pots are irrigated and liftedonto a rolling table, which is
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and temperature is 20-21C. Coveredby plastic, plants
receive no further water until the covers come off, which
is generally 10days later. Twoweeks after potting, the
youngplants are topped, to encourage them togenerate
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summer andby hand in thewinter, but plants in9cmpots
are also toppedby hand. All tips arediscarded. 3-5weeks
after potting theplants are spaced togive themmore
room togrow, and the tables aremoved into the second
glasshousewhere the temperature andRH are reduced to
18.5-19C and70% respectively. Dependingon the season
plants are ready for sale just sevenweeks after potting
during the summer to 10-14weeks in thewinter. The
400wHPS lights allows them togrowover 60different pot
chrysanthemums year-round. “We need lots of different
varieties,” addedMr Strijbis. “TheRussianmarket is for
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ones. TheUK is somewhere inbetweenwhere themarket
is for awide variety of colours.” Peak seasons inEurope
areMother’sDay andEaster, when amaximum number of
80,000plants leave the site aday.
One of thebig changes that has takenplacewithin the
last few years is that the speedof delivery has increased,
andpotential Europeanbuyers know that once anorder
is placed they can expect to receive it within 1-2days.
Many nowwait until the lastminute toplace anorder, and
SEAOF POT PLANTS
ANDMILLIONSOF ROSES
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successful path tomaintainproduction costs and increase
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All 4,500 rolling tables aremoved around the glasshouse using
these LogiqsAgro-made systems.
