Now 16 years later, David is still producing peppers and cucumbers in the same soil in his retractable roof greenhouse which is still using the original roof covering. David has a unique perspective on growing in a retractable roof greenhouse since he has experience growing in the open field, in conventional greenhouses and retractable roof greenhouses.
Graciously agreeing to do a video, David describes his experiences and philosophies on how he has dealt with insects, disease and soil borne problems in his retractable roof greenhouse over the last 16 years.
He has proven that in a retractable roof greenhouse:
- Soil borne problems like salt and nematodes can be managed even if the soil has been farmed for over 30 years
- Insects are not a significant cause of losses even if the roof retracts
- Foliar diseases are easier to manage especially when you can expose the leaves to direct sunlight
- It is easy to develop protocols to grow in the retractable roof with time and experience
- A wide variety of crops or varieties can be grown in the same house
