Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Floriade
Today was our last visit. We took a two hour drive to Venlo where the 2012 Floriade world horticulture expo was being held.
It occurs every 10 years in the Netherlands, covering 66 hectares with 5 unique worlds showcasing different garden designs, flowers, outdoor furniture, world gardens and much more.
We too a cable car ride over the site, to see what was on offer. After walking around exploring for 4 hours it was time to head home. Enjoy the photos that I took.
Well the visits have come to an end, I am lucky enough to be staying on an extra week. I will continue blogging my journey from London to Scotland.
It occurs every 10 years in the Netherlands, covering 66 hectares with 5 unique worlds showcasing different garden designs, flowers, outdoor furniture, world gardens and much more.
We too a cable car ride over the site, to see what was on offer. After walking around exploring for 4 hours it was time to head home. Enjoy the photos that I took.
Well the visits have come to an end, I am lucky enough to be staying on an extra week. I will continue blogging my journey from London to Scotland.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Metazet demonstration nursery
Today we travelled in true Holland style via bicycle. We hired bikes from the hotel and set off towards our destination, we were lucky the weather held off.
The demonstration nursery is a place where they show the latest technologies for nursery growing. From the machines you use to the packaging you use to transport,they also run trial for chemical companies, have trial glass houses for students.
They also have an area set up growing tomatoes in water instead of soil, it was still early stages but the system is looking towards being more sustainable.
The demonstration nursery is a place where they show the latest technologies for nursery growing. From the machines you use to the packaging you use to transport,they also run trial for chemical companies, have trial glass houses for students.
They also have an area set up growing tomatoes in water instead of soil, it was still early stages but the system is looking towards being more sustainable.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Dry Hydroponics
Our second visit was to see how dry hydroponics worked. It was all a very simple system, the company build ponds about 50cm deep and put raft systems on the water. On the rafts u place the produce (lettuce) and then let it grow. There is no flow needed, no chemicals just water movement, this is done for 10 minutes every hour in each pond. Very low energy needed, the ponds are flushed out about every 1-2 years.
At the moment the predominately have grown lettuce but they are now trailing, basil, leeks, bok choy and cabbage.
At the moment the predominately have grown lettuce but they are now trailing, basil, leeks, bok choy and cabbage.
Grape Museum
Our last visit today was to the Museum which showcased the history of the Westend Horticulture. We watched a video on the history dating back to the ice age and how the area became a significant horticulture area.
The museum had many artifacts including tools, machines, pots, knives ect. They also had the old vines which were first grown in hot houses, the vines we saw today were still in glass houses.
They also had a replica of the old Dutch Auction System, which was really interesting to see after we saw the modern version this morning.
The museum had many artifacts including tools, machines, pots, knives ect. They also had the old vines which were first grown in hot houses, the vines we saw today were still in glass houses.
They also had a replica of the old Dutch Auction System, which was really interesting to see after we saw the modern version this morning.
Van Winden Tomato Growers
Van Winden is a family owned business who export tomatoes all over Europe. They run two glass houses with a total of 11 hectares of glass, within these they grow two different varieties.
They pick roughly 550kg of tomatoes every hour and harvest once a week. Whilst we were there they were harvesting and packing for supermarkets in Spain.
Their market is 80% supermarkets around Europe. It takes roughly (depending on location) 2.5 days from picking to reach the shelves.
0.5-1% of tomatoes are thrown out because of defects. During winter they collect rain water and store it in tanks to use in summer.
They pick roughly 550kg of tomatoes every hour and harvest once a week. Whilst we were there they were harvesting and packing for supermarkets in Spain.
Their market is 80% supermarkets around Europe. It takes roughly (depending on location) 2.5 days from picking to reach the shelves.
0.5-1% of tomatoes are thrown out because of defects. During winter they collect rain water and store it in tanks to use in summer.
Flower Auction
This morning was an early start to watch the flower auctions. The flower auction occurs everyday mid week all year round. They roughly sell 3 billion flowers and pot plants each year, this is predominantly for the European market.
There are four auction rooms with 8 different auctions happening at once, there is also another room with 3 auctions for pot plants. They use a Dutch Auction system that has been used for decades, but obviously now the technology has advanced. (as u can see in the photo)
The real amazement was the process from once the buyer purchased flowers. There was so much colour, so many flowers, and fast paced. the flowers come into a massive warehouse where they are sorted into buyers then lined up ready to be loaded into waiting trucks.
There are four auction rooms with 8 different auctions happening at once, there is also another room with 3 auctions for pot plants. They use a Dutch Auction system that has been used for decades, but obviously now the technology has advanced. (as u can see in the photo)
The real amazement was the process from once the buyer purchased flowers. There was so much colour, so many flowers, and fast paced. the flowers come into a massive warehouse where they are sorted into buyers then lined up ready to be loaded into waiting trucks.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Priva
Our last visit today was the head quarters of Priva. Priva provide services to help growers and their crops. They are a highly acclaimed Dutch horticulture expertise, research, technology and innovation company.
Their new head quarters were built in 2007 with recycled goods and was built to be sustainable. They don't use gas to heat the building it is all done by an aqua fire system. The system has two holes drilled deep into the ground these are then feed into a heating system and then through the buildings pipes to create heating. The opposite is also done to provide cooling.
As we toured around the building we wandered past production line, warehouse, researches ect.
Priva systems manage crop production for growers. They also provide training facilities for their customers.
Their new head quarters were built in 2007 with recycled goods and was built to be sustainable. They don't use gas to heat the building it is all done by an aqua fire system. The system has two holes drilled deep into the ground these are then feed into a heating system and then through the buildings pipes to create heating. The opposite is also done to provide cooling.
As we toured around the building we wandered past production line, warehouse, researches ect.
Priva systems manage crop production for growers. They also provide training facilities for their customers.
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