De Peelkroon – Strawberries

The Situation

The Peelkroon is a company with 3 locations (a total of 7.5 ha) in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands, growing strawberries under glass. They have been growing under glass since 1960, and the company is known to be progressive. The strawberries are grown very sustainably, almost organically, but in growing gutters. 2 years ago they took over the neighbor’s cucumber greenhouse and continued growing cucumbers for 2 more years to get to know the greenhouse well. Now the existing greenhouse had to be converted to grow strawberries.

The Solution

After the last cucumber crop, the 2.2 ha greenhouse was completely cleared, leveled, the water system adjusted, and redesigned. The closed gutter, the sturdiest type of gutter, was chosen. With this type of gutter, there is less chance of bio-film on the drain water and due to the light coming under the tray, roots do not grow quickly into the drain channel. This type of gutter with a width of 130 mm exactly matched the existing type of substrate trays. All aspects of this project were coordinated so that everything was ready in the shortest possible time.

The Value

The project of “The Peelkroon” was completed in early December 2023, which meant that by the end of December, the new plants could enter the greenhouse. For the owner of the Peelkroon (Mr. Rob van Enckevort), trust in the company was also important. “We have been working with MJ-Tech, Growtec’s sister company, for some time. Our experiences with the high-pressure misting system are very good: it is solid, qualitatively strong, and requires little maintenance. We also have this expectation with the gutter system: it is quality.”

Link to Article:  Cucumber greenhouse now finally converted into strawberry cultivation (hortidaily.com)