Due to a technical malfunction, the greenhouse grape harvest at Nieuw Tuinzight nursery in Den Hoorn, Netherlands, has largely failed. At the end of June, temperatures in one of the greenhouses soared to over 50 degrees Celsius, rendering 95 percent of the grapes unusable.
An automatic system is supposed to ventilate the greenhouse, but during the heatwave, it proved ineffective. Outside, it was over 35 degrees Celsius, but inside, the temperature soared to over 50 degrees Celsius. It remains unclear why this happened.
Faced with this setback, entrepreneurial couple Sharon-Dewi and Tim van Koolwijk are now shifting their focus to their algae production at Alga Farm, their dedicated algae-growing facility, as they explained in an interview with local broadcaster WOS (link in Dutch)
Steef van Adrichem of Ansu Vanda experienced a similar incident earlier this spring. On a particularly hot day, a power outage struck, causing the temperature in the greenhouse to rise dangerously high. The roof vents failed to open, and the shading screens didn't close, resulting in severe heat damage. As a result, a significant portion of the orchids was burned.
