Teelt losse tomaten

The greenhouses of Paul and Cock van Schie are located in Kwintsheul, spread over two sites with a combined cultivation area of approximately 24 acres. The last location on the Hoenderparklaan was newly built in 2007 and is 16 acres in size. The tomatoes grown are of the breed Arvento from Rijk Zwaan. A good tasting tomato of around 95 grams weight.

In December the new plants are planted in the greenhouses. Mid-March the first tomatoes are ripe and red enough to be harvested. In the summer we harvest from the plants twice a week. The tomatoes are harvested into blue crates which are then processed in the sorting hall of Tomselect. In mid-November the last tomatoes are harvested. After the final harvest the entire greenhouse is emptied, cleaned and prepared for the new plants in December.

A CHP (combined heat and power) generator produces the heat needed to heat the greenhouse. This gas turbine generator burns natural gas to produce electricity. By- products of this process are heat and CO2.

Light, Heat and Water in a sustainable way

A tomato need three things to grow well; light, heat and water. On a summers day a plant can consume up to 2.5 liters of water. Nutrients are added to the water to allow the plant to grow as well as possible. All water that is not consumed by the plant is collected for reuse.

The electricity is used to run the sorting and packing machines of Tomselect with any excess being sold back to the national grid. The heat is used to heat the greenhouse and the CO2 is also pumped into the greenhouse to help the plants grow better. Because of this a CHP has an energy efficiency of 95% which is much higher than a normal power production plant.

Since 2011 we have been investigating the possibilities of the application of geothermal heating within our company. In March 2013 L.A. van Schie were granted an exploration license to allow drilling. At this moment in time we are researching further the feasibility and applying for grants to fund the project.

As we don’t use artificial lighting in our crops we are dependent on the sun for light. The more sunlight, the quicker the tomato plant will grow and produce new tomatoes. This is why production in the spring is lower than in the summer. It remains after all a product of nature.

During the growing season L. A. van Schie makes use of biological control and bumble bees. The bees pollinate the flowers of the tomato plant. The biological control is used against pests and diseases.