Belgian strawberries all year round
Jan is no stranger to strawberries, as grandfather Frans was also a proud grower of Belgian strawberries in the open field. He passed on his enthusiasm for strawberry cultivation to his grandson, who took over the business in 1989. He continues to expand the business and focuses mainly on substrategrown strawberries in greenhouses.
There are 170,000 plants growing in farmer Jan Jansen’s greenhouse. They will yield 100,000 kg of strawberries this spring. “In this greenhouse, we grow strawberries almost all year round.” Jan was one of the first Belgian growers to start winter cultivation. There is no picking between New Year and mid-January, but then there’s other work to take care of. “If we really wanted to, we could also harvest during that time. However, this current approach works well for us.”
“In Belgium we invest significantly in innovation, and a lot of resources are geared to developing and trialling new varieties. In fact, we have trial fields ourselves to try out different new varieties.”
As a grower, Jan also makes a difference by working sustainably. “We deploy biological pesticides, use and reuse rainwater, work with energy screens that insulate the greenhouse better, and heat on cogeneration,” he lists. “Once the cultivation is over, the plants are shredded and taken to a composter, where they get a second life.” In hydroponic cultivation, the plants are put on racks that are 1.20 metres high. That’s not only convenient for the pickers, but it’s also beneficial for both the plants and the environment, since water and nutritiens can be dosed more efficiently, and the water can be reused after filtering.
Jan may be modest by nature, but you can clearly see the pride he takes in his strawberries. “Fruit in UK is sometimes imported from far away and thus has a heavy ecological footprint. In terms of taste our strawberries also easily triumph over foreign ones. “Our strawberries are juicy and full in flavour, have a good shelf life and are available for a very long period. So why not go for ours?”