Greenhouse tomatoes start-up – An Example to New Greenhouse Produce Farmers

GREENHOUSE TOMATOES START-UP –

An Example for New Greenhouse Produce Farmers

Hans van de Arend started Tunnel Tomatoes in 2016 with the objective of growing yearround tomatoes on his farm, located in the Brits area. The product had to be of superior quality with no use of fossil fuels and as few inputs like chemicals, fertilisers and water as possible. When successful the project needed to be scalable; that is, easy to replicate and expand. This starting point led Hans to construct the system and follow his method of production which he currently maintains.

As the method of production, Hans chose the high-wire tomato production with a pipe rail system utilising coco-peat substrate.

The coco-peat substrate is easily disinfected and can be replaced when needed. This guarantees his production to stay free from soil borne diseases. The substrate also allows him to check, register and control the root environment in order to create the best growing conditions for the roots and the plants. Run-off or drain water is collected, filtered, disinfected and recycled to save on water and fertilisers.

The pipe rail system has a dual purpose.

It is an internal transport system for harvesting and crop maintenance and also used to heat the greenhouse during winter.

The original idea was to grow a high wire crop during a year cycle. That meant selected varieties grafted on a rootstock. The Brits summers seem to be too harsh for this method with plants starting to deteriorate badly in summer. The method was therefor changed into a shorter production cycle with nongrafted plants. Plants are grown for an extended time in the nursery with two seeds per block. Plants are about 50 cm high with the first flowers opening when transplanted into the production greenhouse. This offers production within 6 to 8 weeks after planting.

According to Hans, an experienced greenhouse producer, planting 2 seeds per block requires good quality seed as both seeds need to germinate and develop equally. Also, the objective to produce superior quality requires good genetics. A variety needs to give wellsized, good-looking tomatoes that have a long shelf life. “Doufu RZ has those traits and suits us very well in our set-up and method of production,” Hans explained.

Reduced inputs

The goal of using as little inputs as possible leads to several advantages. All rainwater off the greenhouses is collected and stored to decrease the use of water from external sources and the quality of rainwater is always superior to that of other sources.

The greenhouses are naturally ventilated and do not have a pad and fan system as that system uses a lot of energy and water.

cucumber

Pepper

Cauliflower

Lettuce melon

Kohlrabi

Beetroot

TomatoesTomatoes

Find your variety

Rijk Zwaan offers a wide range of high-quality vegetable varieties. We select and test them thoroughly to ensure their suitability for growing in South African conditions. In addition to the seeds themselves, we also provide reliable information about the performance of our varieties and expert cultivation advice from our crop specialists. This ensures the grower has the best start to a successful harvest.

36 Steyn Road, Rietvallei Farm Krugersdorp 1739 South Africa | Postal address P.O. Box 2259, Ruimsig Krugersdorp 1732 South Africa Tel: +27 61 120 3082 / 116 9690 / 116 956 Undercover farming I May/June 2021 I Volume 18 No 3 5 Email: info@rijkzwaan.co.za | www.rijkzwaan.co.za

“We recycle drain water out of the coco-peat slabs to save on water and fertilisers and also to prevent pollution to the environment. The controlled environment helps us to grow strong and resilient plants. These plants are better equipped to withstand attacks of pest and diseases therefor reducing the need for chemical intervention. When possible, we use natural enemies to fight occurring pests. The ground is covered reducing the need for weed control to a minimum,” Hans said.

In the greenhouse the climate and irrigation are computer controlled. This gives better management control but also a good registration of what happens. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to have total insight in the growing of the crop and find ways to improve it.

Tunnel Tomatoes tries to ban all fossil fuels in the production. Heating of the greenhouses in the winter is already fossil free. During the sunny and warm winter days, water is heated in large solar panels and stored in a tank. In the night the hot water from the tank is pumped through the pipe rail system to heat up the greenhouse.

“We currently have a small trial installation of a PV system to generate our own electricity. The plan is to go fully off-grid in the near future,” Hans said about future plans.

“As far as our employees are concerned, we try to make their work area as comfortable as possible. Normally it is cooler in the greenhouse than outside: the plants’ evaporation cools the greenhouse down, but it can still be very hot and humid inside. Employees have pipe rail trolleys to minimise carrying while harvesting. They also use these trollies to sit on while doing plant maintenance or use them to collect debris from the plants. Electric pipe rail trollies are used for work at the top of the plants (about 3 metres above ground level).

“Rijk Zwaan has a lot of experience with their varieties in many different growing environments. With that they can advise me on the varieties that will perform best in our circumstances. The experience also helps with finding solutions to problems we encounter and improve on our production” Hans concluded.