The new organic greenhouse vegetable season has begun in Belgium. "We planted everything in January, and production is now well underway," says Krist Hamerlinck of Eco Veg. "Tomatoes are selling well. But for the other products, sales are quite difficult. Combine that with lower than expected production, due to the colder weather. That's making growers unhappy."
"The cooler weather is also hampering organic pest control. In other years, nature helped us with an abundance of ladybirds or hoverflies. Now it's simply too cold. We have to use organic plants to balance everything. Aubergines are having an especially hard time this year. Farmers have already released €2/m² worth of aphid control products. These have had varying results."
"The biology is now generally under control. However, sometimes customers return aubergines because of a few aphid shells. Then you have to wonder whether going organic was the right decision. Organic shoppers are prepared to accept slight deviations; supermarket inspectors don't. Their attitude is, that's not supposed to be there, so let's return it," says Krist.
Eco Veg sorts, packages, and sells its own and third-party products. "Switching growers have to rotate their crops. They, therefore, need several sorting and packing machines. And especially a lot of space. That's something mono-cultivating conventional growers don't have to deal with. Eco Veg has the solution."
"We get sweet and pointed peppers in bulk. We sort and package them as per the client's requirements. We've recently started using a new weighing machine. That's speeded up sweet pepper and aubergine duo-packaging. Aubergines are often packed in two-piece 500g trays. This packaging machine means we also have far fewer too-heavy packs. That saves us up to five percent in weight, and the work is less stressful. That's something for which our staff is grateful. So, everyone's happy," concludes Krist.
For more information:
Krist Hamerlinck
Eco Veg
5a Stoepe Street
9960, Assenede, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 486 166 606
Email: info@ecoveg.be
Website: www.ecoveg.be