9th October 2024 - Jan Verbaarschot & Erik Stappers
At the end of this year, Jan Verbaarschot is stepping down as a consultant at Horti-Consult International. Erik Stappers is new to the team. He will take over a number of Jan's clients.
Blog
Change of guard
Absolute humidity strategy at FIT Berlin gives new understanding in dehumidifying glasshouses
16 October 2023 - Ton van Kessel
The Fachinformationstage (FIT) 2023 was held in Berlin from 26 to 28 September. Growers and managers from German, Austrian and Swiss glasshouse horticulture companies were invited to attend. This year’s event was attended by more than 50 horticulturalists.
Absolute humidity: an essential tool in climate control
30 March 2023 - Ton van Kessel
Regardless of where fruit and vegetables are grown in the world, light, humidity and plant temperature are the determining factors in successful cultivation, and these are expressed in the AH value.
The energy challenge
10 January 2023 - Gilbert Heijens
The subject of energy has always been very important in cultivation. But the current high energy prices are forcing Horti-Consult advisors and growers to look even more closely at how they can continue quality growing with a lower energy consumption.
International horticulture built on knowledge from the Netherlands
3 October 2022 - Wilbert van Oers
As a former grower of tomatoes and strawberries, I enjoy sharing my cultivation experience with the companies that I work with. I have now worked as a consultant at Horti-Consult International for 3 years. Before that, my wife and I had a tomato and strawberry growing company.
How low can you go?
23 December 2021 - In the Netherlands, the first unlit tomato growers are starting production, and lit greenhouses are full, too. It would all seem quite normal, if not for the fact that many December plantings have been postponed and both lit and unlit growers have had to adjust their entire crop planning due to the energy crisis.
Our advisors on tour in Eastern Europe
23 November 2021 - The Horti-Consult International cultivation advisory team has made it a tradition to travel internationally once a year. At the beginning of this month, they visited Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia. Below, you will find a big part of their trip report.
More spread out growing now and hopefully back to 'normal' later this winter?
3 November 2021 - Gilbert Heijens
"Many plantings have been postponed," cultivation adviser Gilbert Heijens observes for the Dutch and Belgian market. He supports national and international growers of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines, and courgettes, and organic growers. "Most shifts will take place in the December tomato plantings. As for peppers, I think the early plantings are holding out reasonably well, while for cucumbers, there are growers who are postponing the start of their crop to sometimes even April. Therefore, some growers will start with larger plants."
Everybody gained some experience with a closed greenhouse
24 February 2021 - Ton van Kessel
Last weekend the temperature in Netherlands rose to +15 degrees Celsius. A week before, it was -15 degrees Celsius. They went from winter to (almost) spring in just a couple of days. This means that growers were busy keeping their greenhouse climate at the right level and had to stay alert for the week that was coming. We spoke with Ton van Kessel when he visited one of his growers the Thursday before the weekend with spring temperatures. "Problems with humidity might arise," warns Van Kessel.
My most important advice is to give yourself a buffer when cultivating
19 January 2021 - Jan Banken
It is a surprising fact that both during the first outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in China at the end of 2019, and when the first case of the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) appeared in Germany in the summer of 2018, crop advisor Jan Banken of Horti-Consult International was a lot closer at that moment than he could have thought. Fortunately, he can laugh about it at the beginning of 2021, a year in which viruses continue to draw attention. “I quickly gained experience and had a head start that I would rather not have had.”