We are deploying Dutch greenhouses in the US and have deep roots in the Netherlands - AMA
What's a "Dutch greenhouse" specifically, what makes it different?
By "Dutch greenhouse", I meant industrial-scale glass greenhouses [1] that have evolved in the Netherlands over the last 70 years and, more recently, have been built in other countries primarily by Dutch greenhouse construction companies. These greenhouses are 20+Ac in footprint (similar in footprint to a Tesla Gigafactory) and have a wide variety of actuation - heating, cooling, lighting systems etc.
2) What will you grow (produce probably?)
3) If produce is to be grown, how will it be price competitive with field grown produce from the US and Mexico? Will it be "specialty"?
2) Vine crops (Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers) and berries. No cannabis.
3) Greenhouses are supplying the US market from Canada and Mexico today. So they are already price competitive. Greenhouses are complementary to field farms as a) field farms do not produce during the winter; and b) greenhouses supply higher quality varieties.
So you will grow on string and do lean and lower? Or use the high lift vehicle to prune and harvest?
I've been in some of the greenhouses in Mexico, (Sinaloa to be exact) growing peppers and Asian eggplants. They were fairly simple plastic houses but had strict entry protocols including booties and yellow sticky trap mazes to enter.
There is a more complex industrial greenhouse I saw in Utah growing tomatoes on string. Very tall, unfortunately I didn't get to go in. It's next to a power plant and they pipe the expelled CO2 into the greenhouse for increased crop production. I believe it was started by Dutch growers.
I'm an agronomist by training and even got on the cover of a seed catalog one year back in the 90s when I worked in Arizona on a veg farm. Previously I worked field tomatoes around Tampa Bay area Florida. Now I program for last 12 years, but still have a big garden every year. I agree on greenhouse quality 100% but but am personally a big fan of soil and compost and dislike hydroponics. Nearly religiously so haha.
Really like the idea of localized production centers. Makes a lot of sense for many reasons.
I have to say, Dutch growers really have my respect. They are the masters of this craft and even dairies. I currently live in a dairy rich region and many of the owners are of Dutch heritage.
Very interesting stuff anyway, thanks for sharing and I will keep an eye on this.
Good work! Very interesting ideas in your videos. People think because something looks like a tomato it is all the same. But there is a huge difference in flavor and nutrition as you correctly point out and the idea of optimizing for nutritional quality is so overlooked. We grow on mineral poor soils often because those are taken up over the years however we still get something that is red and tomato shaped so it goes off to the supermarket to be sold after sitting for some long period of time which further degrades both flavor and nutrition.
The thing that I am skeptical of (and why I love compost), is that we will ever get a full enough understanding of the interplay between various factors of life to duplicate or balance at the same level. But perhaps I am very wrong.
At any rate, I view life as a succession of organisms of which we are a part, and trust management of complexity primarily to evolution and biology because I know I cannot manage complexity at the same level.
Admittedly this could be one part naturalistic fallacy and one part article of religious faith and one part hippie wooo but the taste of compost grown produce with good mineral supplementation I have not found elsewhere. But perhaps it is possible hydroponically and I'd really like to see it.
Anyway, great points in your videos! More people should know about what you say. It's such an overlooked topic, the real nutrition value of food.
For vine crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplants), we use a high wire system. The stems are clipped to the wire as the crop grows upwards. The entire wire (and crop) is then lowered as fruits are harvested to make room for more growth. We keep the same crop for an entire year.
I've been in some of the greenhouses in Mexico, (Sinaloa to be exact) growing peppers and Asian eggplants. They were fairly simple plastic houses but had strict entry protocols including booties and yellow sticky trap mazes to enter.
Pest and disease management is a big deal in greenhouses as they spread quickly given that it is an indoor environment. In Mexico, more high-tech plastic greenhouses are being built. They are cheaper than the Dutch glass equivalent but still have a high degree of actuation. In Mexico, there is so much light, that you don’t need the high light transmissivity of glass.
There is a more complex industrial greenhouse I saw in Utah growing tomatoes on string. Very tall, unfortunately I didn't get to go in. It's next to a power plant and they pipe the expelled CO2 into the greenhouse for increased crop production. I believe it was started by Dutch growers.
I’ve been to this facility. It was built by a company called Houwelings which are a Canadian company with Dutch heritage. Unfortunately it was not operated well and it has recently gone through a restructuring [1].
I agree on greenhouse quality 100% but but am personally a big fan of soil and compost and dislike hydroponics. Nearly religiously so haha.
There’s a case for soil vs hydroponics but the reality is that you can’t supply year-round at the quality and price that consumers expect without hydroponics.
Also I didn't realize you were founder of this company. I thought you were just a guy on the internet.
I am both :)
People think because something looks like a tomato it is all the same. But there is a huge difference in flavor and nutrition as you correctly point out and the idea of optimizing for nutritional quality is so overlooked.
You can grow high taste varieties and low taste varieties in greenhouses. Which variety you choose is a simple ROI calculation like in any business. A big problem in the US today is that greenhouses have been built in Canada and Mexico and the produce is trucked a long distance. This results in significant quality degradation vs growing locally. We aim to fix this in the US and in other countries.
[1]: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunset-continues-to...
I currently live in southern New Mexico which I suppose is really northern Mexico if you removed the political lines. Yes, sun is not lacking here at all. The problem here is intense heat and scorching sun and wind and hard water. Crops like tomato and bell pepper do not really produce outside (fruit fails to set except for a couple months, bell-pepper the size of habanero if you are lucky enough to get one or two).
People have tried greenhouses but they are too hot. Some have tried with wetwalls but the hard water quickly ruins them. Several abandoned attempts (not to your scale obviously) sit around town as a warning to others.
I've been experimenting in this area for a few years and finally last year was able to grow a massive crop of tomatoes (that set fruit all summer) and full sized bell peppers. Even a rhubarb which the sun would fry normally.
I built a metal hoop house and covered it with 40% aluminet which is a reflective shade cloth, no doubt you are familiar. Normally I guess removing 40% of the light would be an issue but there is just _so_ _much_ _sun_ and my feeling is it probably compares to normal atmosphere and cloud cover in say, England but don't have any hard numbers.
I was really surprised how well it worked and what I was able to grow. I left it open to air circulation with no plastic. It cut the harsh winds down to a nice breeze. I did have an early problem with aphids in some crops (exactly right about the threat of pests in greenhouses and pseudo greenhouses like mine). Next year I'll be introducing lacewings and minute pirate bugs with wheast very early and hope to avoid as much soap spray and cursing.
I'm expanding the tunnel over the winter (got 3000 square feet aluminet but will only use maybe 600-800) and trying a number of different indeterminate tomato varieties on string with clips. Then lean and lower as they reach the top. Similar (but smaller and not as pro) to what you are doing.
My medium is 1/3 peat, 1/3 composted cotton burrs and mushroom compost and homemade compost, the rest sand and perlite with bone meal, blood meal, calmag and micros, traces of clay and some crushed volcanic stone. Also water holding crystals. Growing in 7 gallon bags. Fish emulsion and kelp compost blends primarily for fertilizer. All water is run through an osmosis system I built with an RV softener and undersink RO parts into a 300 gallon tank then pumped.
Open (or non enclosed with translucent cover) aluminet is a real game changer in this region and I've wondered if it could be commercially viable to expand the range of crops that could be grown locally. It also holds in some heat and I evaded the first 3 frosts still producing tomato and pepper. But for now am just puttering and experimenting and enjoying some really excellent tomato and peppers!
Thanks for the info anyway. This truly is such a fascinating topic and your plans and company are impressive.