We must provide plants with a number of necessities. In addition to needing water and nutrients, they have a great need for the right kind of light. In the Dutch maritime climate, it's almost obvious to use artificial lighting as a grower. But what if as a company you opt for the sustainable alternative and rely almost completely on sky light? And more importantly: what is the advantage for you as a buyer?
Most of our plants are originally tropical inhabitants. At our foreign nurseries, such as in Costa Rica, they are outside in bright light and there is high humidity. Add to that the warm temperatures and you've got the ideal conditions for rapid plant growth. A shock from their transport to De Kwakel is therefore inevitable.
Normally, the plants are immediately placed in the greenhouses on arrival under carefully adjusted assimilation lighting. Nevertheless, we have chosen to mainly grow under sky light. And yes, this sometimes also means slow growth in dark months. But we really only see this as an advantage!
Growing in peace
Light is of course indispensable for plant growth. To compensate for the lack of artificial lighting, our greenhouses have transparent roofs made of insulating glass or plastic. The location of the plants has also been carefully considered: the plants that need a lot of light are placed in full light. Those that prefer shade are sheltered from overly bright sunrays under the leaves of those same plants.
Patience is the key
We leave the plants alone until they are sufficiently accustomed to our strong seasonal changes. By choosing not to use artificial lighting, we naturally save a lot on our energy consumption. But this way of growing has another great advantage for the buyer of the plants. It makes them even more resistant to changing environments so they will adorn any project for longer: whether in an office, hospital or other indoor location.
And the 1% of LED grow lights that we do use? They hang in the climate tents with an automatic ebb and flow system where it sometimes literally rains. This is where the plants that have just been planted in hydroponics are placed for re-rooting. This can take about four weeks to three months. After this, they continue to grow in peace in our greenhouses with the same ebb and flow system, but under the transparent roof. Here they remain here until they meet our high quality requirements: only then are they really ready to go with you.
Sustainable cultivation
We see it as our duty to cultivate as sustainably as possible. Besides using as little artificial lighting as possible, we collect rainwater, separate our waste, reuse this water, our greenhouses are well insulated and the amount of solar panels ensures that we generate our own electricity.