Sustainable Cultivation

Our business is committed to sustainability.

Consumers, supermarkets as well as the government are making ever greater demands when it comes to the production methods for greenhouse vegetables.
We are continuously finding ways to make our processes even more efficient and to further reduce the use of raw materials in order to minimise the impact of business operations on the environment and the surrounding area.

Screens

Screens are mounted in the ridge of the greenhouse and are used in winter to ensure that the cold stays out and the heat stays in the greenhouse. This means it takes less energy to heat our greenhouses.
In summer we also use these screens to protect the plants and sweet peppers against bright sunlight.

Water

Hoogweg waters the sweet pepper plants with rainwater. Rainwater that falls on the greenhouse roof is collected in large water basins. The rainwater has the necessary fertilisers added before it is used for watering the plants. The plants stand on cultivation mats and in growing gutters. Feed and water are supplied via small hoses with tricklers inserted into the mat to enable the plants to absorb the required amount of water and feed. The growing gutters enable the unused water to be collected. The water is then purified and reused to avoid any water and feed draining into soil or surface water.
The recirculation of water means we need less water and fertilisers.

Crop protection

We use biological crop protection to keep diseases and pests under control. We use natural predators of insects that can damage the plants or peppers. If we are unable to control the infestation with biological methods we may – and only if absolutely necessary – use a permitted, mild crop protection which will be sprayed as locally as possible. We minimise our use of pesticides to avoid upsetting the natural balance of all insects in the greenhouse which could result in a new infestation.

Source photograph: Koppert Biological Systems

Diffused glass

Diffused glass has been placed on top of the greenhouse roofs at the Marknesse location. This glass has a special coating to improve the light distribution in our greenhouses.
Sunlight is one of the most important things sweet pepper plants need in order to thrive. The more light, the better the plant can grow.
The glass also raises the temperature in the greenhouse which means that we need to use less heating during the winter months.

Sustainable Energy Sources

At Hoogweg Paprika Growers, we use modern technologies to ensure a responsible and sustainable energy supply with the help of solar panels, geothermal energy, biomass, and CHP units.

Sustainable energy sources