Danny van der Spek grows peppers sustainably on 9 hectares in Bergschenhoek, The Netherlands. He is one of the biggest nurseries specializing in orange peppers. For the third season in a row, he’s cultivating on Vital slabs. To his full satisfaction.
"When I joined the company in 1993, we switched from red to orange. I'm color blind and I can’t see the discoloration from green to red that well," he explains. “Orange is still a niche market. At present, I’d say total acreage is around 80 hectares.” The sales are made through The Greenery. "Most of it is for export. Our peppers are mainly sold to the United States, Japan, Germany and England. In the Netherlands, the peppers only reach one retail chain."
The pepper grower gets his plants in Plantop blocks, mostly in consultation with the plant grower. "Our technical guy has good experiences with them. The top of the blocks remain nice and dry but not too dry. The plants are still looking healthy.”
Van der Spek is also enthusiastic about the Vital slabs. "The Vital slabs are not too dry and not too wet. Cucumbers generally need a dryer substrate than peppers.”