Tomato growers Leo Verdonck (64) and Marja Van Dessel (60) of greenhouse farm Den Boschkant have just replanted all their greenhouses with young tomato plants from which they can start harvesting around 10 December. "But it is the first time in our lives that we have hesitated for so long," Marja tells Het Nieuwsblad. The growers will be among the few to offer tomatoes this winter. The Boerenbond points out that there will be virtually no tomatoes from Flanders on the market this winter due to the energy crisis.
Marja explains in the newspaper that adjustments have been made. For example, Sweet Lily cherry tomatoes have been replaced by ordinary tomatoes under lights, because cherry tomatoes are the most energy-intensive to grow.
Read the whole article in Het Nieuwsblad here.
Flemish early strawberry cultivation is also threatened by sky-high energy prices. Normally, the first Limburg strawberries are already on the shelves by mid-March, but it will be a lot later next year. "Heating greenhouses has become unaffordable," grower Marc Munters tells Het Belang van Limburg.
