Fast decomposing Veggie paper for environmentally friendly, cost-saving lettuce cultivation

As the world´s population is steadily growing, so does the demand for solutions to grow more efficient and environmentally friendly. It's not just the big outside world that cries out for change and improvements. Internally, the greenhouse has been incurring additional costs in their efforts to address the environmental aspects of the cultivation and optimum utilization of the resources and, therefore, more sustainable production, including CO2 allowances (plastic), environmental taxes and costs associated with collection / pick-up of waste.

The big question for lettuce growers is how to meet the new higher standards from retail about environmentally sound cultivation and also how to effectively keep costs down.

The Ellepot System has a solution to the above mentioned problems, which is confirmed by the use in several nurseries in large parts of Asia and Scandinavia.

Ellegaard A/S the company behind The Ellepot System provides customized machine solutions that thought in customer requirements, the setup may have different features such as Dibbler and Seeder Unit for preparation and insertion of seeds into the Ellepots, which is used for lettuce cultivation.

Since lettuce is a fast growing crop, Ellegaard has developed a special Ellepot Veggie paper that decomposes faster than paper for example the flowers segment.

The germination takes place in Ellepot trays and then put into a Hydroponic or Dry Hydroponic system.

Besides being compatible with many growers current way to grow, the biggest benefit of using The Ellepot System is at the harvest of the lettuce where the pot made of biodegradable paper can be thrown out and the remaining top packaged and sent out into the shops. In traditional cultivation the farmers pay to dispose of their plastic pots.

If we talk about cultivation in "open field", we see how the faster root development leads to an earlier plant out as farmers do not have to wait for full root development as the special Ellepot Veggie paper holds the substrate into place.

When using The Ellepot System for cultivation of lettuce the following advantages are achieved:
• Faster root development and thus allowing earlier plant out.
• Cost savings because Ellepot paper is cheaper than plastic.
• Saves time on waste management (collection and removal of the plastic pots).

Besides a cost-saving production there will also be important statements towards the market that the product has been produced in a green and sustainable way, which is an issue the retail and the world´s population are demanding more and more.

For further information about The Ellepot System
Ellegaard A/S
Export Manager
Brian D. Schmidt
T: + 45 76 14 76 65+ 45 76 14 76 65
bds@ellepot.dk
www.ellepot.dk