On a rainy June morning, accompanied by Arjan Van den Berg, head of sales at NaandanJain for northern Europe, we traveled to meet the flower producers in the Westland region, in the southwest of Holland.
We passed through a residential district, with greenhouses and dwellings with well-kept gardens scattered, and we then arrived at the premises of U Grand, who are producers of chrysanthemums using modern technology.
When we entered the greenhouse, I was overwhelmed by the humid and stifling atmosphere and thoroughly impressed by the vast array of colorful flowers that extended as far as the eye can see. Rose-colored, yellow, and white chrysanthemums follow one after the other in this vast greenhouse that covers some 10 hectares.
The four pillars of the flower’s development: Heat, light, irrigation, and CO2.
“We can expect an optimum level of growth when these four components are optimized,” explained Arjan.
And he added, “the large white tubes above are used to moisten the air so that an optimum humidity level can be maintained in the greenhouse.” And there is also a system in place for heating the soil using hot water circulation pipes. “The ideal temperature for the best growth of the flowers is between 18° and 21°,” Arjan continued.
We noticed two types of lamps on the ceiling: LED lamps which, according to Arjan, “are energy-saving,” and Son-T type lamps, “which generate light as well as the heat.”