Thanks to the good cultivation results, the cheaper price compared to rockwool, and the cheaper disposal of organic substrate, we have decided to switch completely to the organic substrate Greenline Food.”
Firma PA Haket from Bleiswijk is a real family business, run by sons John and René Haket. Despite their respective ages, father and mother Haket are still indirectly involved in the nursery. The nursery is 1,5 hectares in size and produces 3 cucumber crops per year.
Haket is an active member of Oxin Growers, one of the largest growers' cooperatives in the Netherlands. The company has the corresponding Global GAP and GASP certifications and is also Planet Proof certified.
Haket's vision is to grow cucumbers as effectively as possible with the lowest possible footprint. Sustainable and responsible cultivation is therefore of paramount importance and this is reflected in the entire operational management. The nursery runs entirely on geothermal heat and thanks to solar panels they have their own electricity. In addition, they try to carry out crop protection as much as possible with biological, plant-strengthening preparations and natural enemies. "An organic substrate fits perfectly in this picture, because it means we have fewer root problems," says René Haket.
'The choice of Lensli's organic substrate was made on the basis of a test that we set up in 2020. This trial cultivation did give us the same result as cultivation on rockwool; cultivation on organic substrate, however, showed no loss.' say the brothers. After having achieved these results, they decided to fill one tap compartment with Greenline Food, so that they could test and optimize the water supply to the organic substrate. The following year it was decided to put half of the company on Greenline Food. Because this decision gave the same good result as the year before, they have chosen to fully switch to Greenline Food this year (2023).
An organic substrate fits perfectly within our integrated cultivation, because we have fewer root problems thanks to this substrate. "
“We are satisfied with the switch to Greenline Food and the cooperation with Lensli is going well. We don't have to fill the growbags with drips before cultivation and the drainage is already there, which works very well. The holes in the growbags can be improved, but we are working hard on that.
Last year was a good year for Cucumbers and we hope that this year will be another good year, but of course we cannot look into the future. For now, we are at least content with our new, organic substrate.”, says John Haket.