“We have stopped using peat entirely and can now supply our customers with 100% peat-free products for the first time".
Aflora – Opschroef from Straelen (Niederrhein), is a nursery of potted plants and specialized in anthuriums and hebe. The anthuriums are mainly sold in Germany and the hebe is sold throughout Europe. Owner Peter Opschroef has anticipated the market developments and wishes from the end customer and now uses 100% peat-free substrate from Lensli for his plants.
The nursery started transitioning to peat-free potting soil some years ago when they noticed a growing market demand in Germany for sustainable production processes and plants. Following a trial using various peat-free substrates, Lensli's peat-free substrate emerged as the winner. Peter Opschroef chose Lensli’s substrate “as it had the best structure and was easy to work with".
After first restructuring the cultivation of anthuriums to peat-free, Opschroef started switching the hebe cultivation to peat-free. Opschroef has now switched his entire company to peat-free. The large (retail) concerns have also implemented a turnaround in their sustainability policy. Because peat-free cultivation is now an important added value, they ultimately went into business with Aflora – Opschroef because of the 100% peat-free cultivation.
Good alternatives
Peter Opschroef shares his experiences: “Anyone who is involved with substrate, even to just a minor degree, knows there is a limited range of raw materials that can be used in peat-free growing media. The options include bark, rice husks, wood fibre and compost. You start with a basic recipe and build from there. Everyone starts in the same position. Our customers were enthusiastic straight away when we asked them about supplying plants grown on peat-free substrate. Then it was down to us to find good alternatives, which wasn't easy. The main issue was: can we create stability with the new raw materials to secure competitiveness in the longer term? The process doesn't stop when you find an alternative. There is always something that can be improved. We use a different substrate for anthurium than for hebe. There’s no such thing as a universally suitable substrate".
A peat-free substrate also requires a different method from the grower. “'You have to respond to two aspects. Firstly, we need to water the plant more often to compensate for the high air volume of peat. That does not mean that the plant needs more water, but the intervals become shorter. That is positive, because it is almost impossible for a peat-free substrate to become too wet. Secondly, you have to know the lesser buffering function of the peat-free substrate. Fertilizers cannot be fixed in the substrate, but are immediately available. That means, for example, that you have to add more nitrogen and less potassium.”
Aflora – Opschroef is not yet completely organic, according to its own statement. “In the context of sustainability, we use as few chemical crop protection products as possible. But it is good to reduce that further. Some customers do not want to find traces of products in the plants. They actually go further than the current legislation. Because our customers have certain quality requirements, we want to continuously improve the substrate. We are also testing to use more organic products.”
"After the trial, we chose Lensli's peat-free substrate, as it had the best structure and was easy to work with".