Van der Avoird Trayplant is a Dutch company that specializes in the cultivation of strawberry and raspberry plants. Founded by Peter van Hulten in 2002, the nursery is now a major supplier, providing more than 25 million plants annually to growers throughout Europe and North Africa. Trayplant covers over 60 hectares spread across multiple locations and employs 130 full-time equivalents, 53 of which are permanent.
Last year, Van der Avoird Trayplant introduced GreenSwitch® Original in their fertilization program. Peter van Hulten and Jurgen Blom from Trayplant spoke with Wim Voogt from Klep, a distributor of Van Iperen in the Netherlands, about the company and their initial experiences with this liquid fertilizer made from manure. According to Jurgen, “The GreenSwitch product fits perfectly into our company philosophy.”
Trayplant’s commitment to sustainability is rooted in its DNA. As a learning company, it is constantly seeking ways to improve and innovate, giving people the space to think and take responsibility. The company takes an open approach to sharing its knowledge and experience with others in the industry, believing that by leading the way, it can encourage positive change throughout the sector.
Trayplant is not bothered by the fact that the range of available products has become increasingly limited in recent years. Peter says, “This trend accelerates the transition towards sustainable cultivation, which is what we want to see. You need to ensure healthy soil, select the right varieties, and use green products and biostimulants. It’s important that we start thinking differently, much more preventatively, growing resilient plants so that you need fewer or no products because your plants are vital and healthy.”
The relationship with our supplier Klep is close. Wim says, “I’ve been coming here for as long as the company has existed. On average, I’m active for half a day every 14 days for this company. When I first heard about GreenSwitch and visited the factory in Hardenberg at Van Iperen’s invitation, I immediately thought, “That’s something for Trayplant!’ I called Jurgen from the car on the way back.”
And it turned out to be the right decision. Jurgen says, “The concept fits seamlessly with our vision of sustainable cultivation. We’ve experimented with organic fertilizers before, but that quickly caused blockages in the drip system. With the GreenSwitch process based on Pure Green technology, they produce a liquid and clear sustainable nitrate fertilizer from liquid manure with a close to zero Carbon footprint. And it works just as well as the chemically produced version.”
Jurgen continues, “We’ve been using this for a year now in the cultivation of raspberry plants that bear fruit within three months. Together with Wim, we created an adequate fertilization program using the software supplied by van Iperen called Iperen Connect Greenhouse. The trial was successful, and we want to continue using GreenSwitch as a regular product. The great thing is that this product is produced without natural gas and has a low Carbon footprint. It’s a regular mineral fertilizer but made from manure. Producing chemical fertilizers requires a lot of energy, but that’s not the case with this product. It fits perfectly with our goal of sustainable cultivation.”
Van Iperen