"It was just like a movie", says Dutch santini grower Hans Hendriks. "It was raining heavily and as the fierce winds were in the opposite direction of the waterflow in the gutters on the greenhouse roof, it all got in. It's a miracle that nothing collapsed."
Na 10 dagen halloweenpiek planten in oude tuintjes met gem dag temp van 35 graden mogen we de laatste vandaag lekker rollend door de modder netjes gaan planten, pfff wat een jaar😂 gstrn vanuit het niets ineens regen/hagel/loeiharde jaag-rukwinden, gelukkig staan de kasjes nog👌 pic.twitter.com/XIFth6dCC0
— Hans Hendriks (@HansHendriks5) August 14, 2020
Translation text: After 10 days Halloween peak, plants in the old greenhouse with an average day temp of 35 degrees, we can plant the last ones while rolling in the mud, pfff what a year. Yesterday, out of nowhere, rain/hail/heavy gusts of wind, fortunately the greenhouses are still standing.
Only at their largest, one of the newest, plots - siblings Hans and Ruud Hendriks grow on four different locations in the southeastern town of Baarlo - some glass came down. In these older greenhouses, where the video was shot that Hans posted on Twitter this morning, the crop was fortunately not fully grown yet, as that would have caused more damage. Pumping out the water, however, was quite challenging. "As there was so much rain falling, the loading dock was underwater in no-time. It created a domino effect. We partly got a short circuit which resulted in pumps that were not functioning anymore and in turn water that could not be pumped out of the gutters."
Heat
However, it didn't take that long and the problem is solved now. A shower, a bit of cooling, was also welcome. Over the last 10 days, employees have been planting between 1.5 and 2 million cuttings (by hand, in the old-fashioned way) in greenhouses with an average temperature of 35 degrees. "Over the past few years, Halloween has become more and more important to us. We use our old greenhouses, which together cover about 2 hectares, almost entirely for this purpose. In springtime we do pansies there, exactly at this time santini in Halloween colours. All this has to be planted now, so that it can be delivered exactly in mid-October. And by hand. We are very proud of our employees who have done it all again, and under these circumstances, really great!"
Strong together
Hendriks is up to date about all the COVID-19 news and the impact on the flower industry, but it isn't worrying him. Not now, because the Halloween peak is expected to be a real peak again this year; and also because the grower looks ahead anyway. "We have been wanting to centralise for some time now and have plans to dispose the old greenhouses and build a new greenhouse. That will all actually happen soon. We have not let ourselves be fooled by all the developments of recent times, we have 'just' remained in production and, judging from the sounds from the trade, have even tightened it up a bit, which gave us some extra product in the time after Mother's Day. This little setback now is of course not nice, but", he concludes, "all growers and the entire Dutch floriculture chain together has proven to be so strong. Maybe that's the lesson of the past, and that gives us all the confidence for the future".
For more information:
Hans & Ruud Hendriks
Tangbroek 4
5991 RC Baarlo
The Netherlands
+31 634 27 91 85
info@hendriksbaarlo.nl