Would the Ultra - Clima greenhouse ever have been developed if a tomato grower in California had n’t had a whitefly plague ? presumptively . Although it sure as shooting help that this cultivator was n’t just anyone but was Casey Houweling . The responsible nursery constructor also was n’t just any company either . Together with KUBO , the American cultivator with ' Dutch root ' was at the forefront of the self-aggrandizing innovation in greenhouse construction . " If it ’s going to be 34 degrees today with 5 % humidity , we can handle that easily . "
" We ’d been feature a fortune of problems with whitefly , " Casey began his tale . " This also brought a virus with it : the ToCV computer virus . I rifle to Spain to see how they handled problems like this there . Those growers used insect screens , and we directly purchased 20,000 . As the provider did n’t have that mental ability , they outsourced production to an Italian manufacturing business . Six months subsequently , all those screen strike down because they were n’t UV - proof ! "
Looking back , that ’s when the Ultra - Clima glasshouse evolution depart , stated Casey . He is the former proprietor of Houweling ’s Tomatoes , which grows 90 hectares of tomatoes in California and Canada , a third of these being grown in Ultra - Clima greenhouses . " Those insect screens reduced cooling capacity , you lost wakeful , and you got a shitty climate . " They had the idea of create overpressure in the glasshouse to endeavor to keep the insects out . " We started small - shell experiment in a division of the greenhouse using hose and a cooling launch pad . KUBO develop a concept together with Enerdes , a Dutch glasshouse mood system supplier . After a year - and - a - half , we ’d developed the first 16 - hectare Ultra - Clima greenhouse with KUBO . Yes , 16 hectare . We had the idea that we ’d already learned enough . "
ModificationsThe revolutionary greenhouse concept appeared to work , although some modifications were required . Casey continued : " We start with one hose in the greenhouse . Where the lover starts , you have an flow of air of 100 % , but at the remainder of the hose , the air flow fall to zero as the hose had to make a 90 - degree slant . So , the crops farm under unlike temperatures . We used a smoke machine to screen how the air move through the nursery . " The solution was simple : a 2nd hose was used over a distance of 125 meters . " That was fifteen years ago and was actually just the start of the success story . You now find Ultra - Clima greenhouses across the world . We right away patented the conception but have since learned that a patent is hard to protect . There are always copycats . "
doubt about use in other parts of the worldAlthough the greenhouse proved its worth in the Californian mood , global achiever was n’t something they ’d really factor in . " At the commencement , I had doubts about whether it would do work in other region of the domain . But the more I study , the more I started believing in it . You have a huge wealthiness of options , so you may now grow vegetables much more tattily , even in deserts or super teetotal clime . you could develop in areas where water is difficult to access . "
Different way of cultivatingThe new glasshouse also result in a different way of cultivating . When did he and his finish staff master that method acting ? " You ask to hear about all the pick an Ultra - Clima glasshouse has , and you postulate to introduce a unlike polish stylus . I sometimes expend the model of a automobile . It ’s easy for a driver to reach top speed in a Volkswagen . But in a Maserati , you need to be a really beneficial driver . I think it easy take us some five years before we ’d get the hang the process and enter all the changes in the climate computer . And now a grower just suppose : oh if it ’s going to be 34 academic degree today with 5 % humidity we can handle that easy . The only thing that ’s still difficult is in high spirits humidity in a tropic clime . "
Game changerAs ' found father , ' he ’s convinced that the Ultra - Clima greenhouse is a real game changer . " In an overpressured nursery , the greenhouse top stays clean , you need 95 % few vents , and the greenhouse can cope with lower CO2 levels . " Changes were introduced over the years , though . " These were n’t major changes as it ’s still the same greenhouse , but KUBO did modify the production method to improve production efficiency , energy efficiency was also increase , and C emission were reduced . But we still have a foresighted room to go . There are many more choice to count than just clime , including autonomous finish , maintenance , and travail management innovations . golem are also being developed as the great unwashed keep need to reduce their working hours . "
friendly relationship with KUBOWould the Ultra - Clima glasshouse ever have see the luminance of day if Casey had n’t contacted KUBO ? Casey shake his caput . " From Clarence Day one , KUBO believed in the approximation . They supported us and modernise the concept with us . This wreak human relationship ultimately blossomed into a friendly relationship . We ’d already had a relationship with KUBO for decades , and I jazz Wouter ’s grandfather . That made it easier to take this step together . KUBO is a true strategical partner for Houweling Tomatoes . You need to have confidence in each other . "
And that trustfulness go even further than just constructing their own greenhouses . " I ’m so proud of the Seeds of Tomorrow undertaking : a propagation glasshouse that we built together in Guatemala in an region of extremely high poverty . "
For more entropy : KUBO GroupVlotlaan 7102681 TX , MonsterTel . : +31 ( 0)174 286 161[email protected]www.kubogroup.nl
