Special
Greenhouse vegetables
Tanja Dworschak: “ Our next goal is herbs on five levels”
Knoblauchsland at the center of German greenhouse innovations
“All of Germany is looking to Nuremberg” In the triangle of cities between Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen lies the Knoblauchsland, probably one of the most innovative vegetablegrowing regions in Germany. Although many places in the region began specialized vegetable cultivation as early as the 1960s, a whole new dynamic emerged in Knoblauchsland with the arrival of the third generation of producer families.
A
t the heart of the Franconian drive for innovation sits Florian Wolz, managing director of Franken-Gemüse Knoblauchsland since 2004; a marketing organization that supplies the produce of more than 50 farms to regional and national wholesalers and retailers.
INNOVATION AND THE KNOBLAUCHSLAND "Knoblauchsland is characterized by the many family farms, whose cultivation sometimes had to supply up to three generations. Around the turn of the millennium, there was a far-reaching change from outdoor cultivation on large areas to intensive cultivation in greenhouses," Wolz recalls. "The first ten farms started growing tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses in the 96
AGF Primeur • Gewächshausgemüse • 2020
early years of the millennium - a trend that has continued to evolve to this day."
Due to the spatial confinement between the three cities, the value added had to be increased more and more over the last 20 years, as acreage expansion was impossible. "The growers inside the region have shown a lot of courage; we've seen growers become entrepreneurs." FROM HYDROPONIC CULTIVATION TO SALAD MACHINES, TO GROWING EXOTICS Of course, growing tomatoes and cucumbers in the noughties was not enough. In 2012, Fritz Boss was the first one to grow strawberries in substrate troughs in Bavaria. Germany's first fully automated, hydro-
ponic lettuce cultivation was created in 2015 by Frankengemüse grower Jochen Haubner. We find Germany's first double-story greenhouse at Nuremberg herb producer Tanja Dworschak’s. The innovations will continue in 2021: More growers want to harvest their first hydroponic lettuce at the end of the year, more and more vending machines with fresh lettuce are located in the Nuremberg city area, fresh ginger from Knoblauchsland is in its second season and there is an increase in modern production technology and other future-oriented developments in the triangle. Thanks are due to the young farm managers, says Wolz: "The teamwork and cohesion among the young farmers in the region is something very special. People inspire and motivate each other - the result is a special dynamic and a great drive for innovation." In his 17 years at the helm of the marketing organization, Wolz has watched Knoblauchsland and the producers inside the region prove themselves in the modern fruit and vegetable market: "We want to
