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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Kom in de kas!

Last Saturday was the "kom in de kas" day, the greenhouses' open day. The Netherlands is well-known country for windmills, wooden clogs, tomatoes and tulips. But behind the scene they have the kassen (greenhouses) and without them the economy of The Netherlands wouldn't be so healthy. The greenhouse industry is a major income earner. Most of horticultural production is exported to other European countries and increasingly worldwide.
The Netherlands is still at the forefront of professional greenhouse technology. Growers operate high-tech greenhouses of several hectares to produce outstanding quality vegetables and flowers. But let's focus on the greenhouses we visited last Saturday.

Tulips' greenhouse - Mts. Hanenburg-Hettinga in Pietersbierum


This greenhouse welcomed us in Frisian (the language of Frysland): Wolkom! Yn'e wrald fan de tulpen means welcome! in the world of the tulips. There were several panels as well as employees explaining the production of tulips as cut flowers. Everything starts with the selection of the bulbs. Bulbs are measured by circumference in a horizontal plane at the middle height of the bulb. The ideal bulb size is +12 cm.
The bulbs are planted into water trays and placed into a cooler at 3-5° for 1-3 weeks. This temperature allows for some rooting to take place before the bulbs are placed in the greenhouse.



The tulips remain around 20 days in the greenhouse at 17°. Of course the warmer the greenhouse, the faster the bulbs will bloom.
Next step is to collect the trays/tulips and place them in a conveyor belt for cutting. A machine cuts the tulip just above the bulb. At the end of the belt a woman packs the tulips and put them in a bucket with water. The tulips are placed then again in a cooler at 2° until they are transported to the shops. Here is one of my favorites species: