[VIDEO] Bert has been in the business for nearly 40 years and knows the intricacies of zucchini cultivation. Still, he learns every day and surprises himself time after time. How beautiful is that! A real passionate zucchini grower.
Bert Doelman started in 1985 together with his father at a company that was a few kilometers away from his current greenhouse. They cultivated all kinds of vegetables including tomatoes and lettuce. Over the years, the tomatoes no longer brought in enough money. Twenty years ago, they slowly switched to zucchini. In 2014 they had to start over in a new greenhouse in De Lier. And to this day, the most delicious zucchinis are grown here.
Ups and downs
The worst thing you can experience as a grower, Bert experienced a few years back. The start of the season started very badly because of a root disease in the plants, within six weeks all the plants in the greenhouse were dead. No plants means no income. Therefore, the highlight for Bert as a grower is when the crop succeeds completely with high production and perfect quality. Every day he, his wife and colleagues are working very hard to achieve this.
Still learning every day
Bert exchanges knowledge and experience with conculeagues. In this way he keeps track of the latest developments in the industry and can apply them to his zucchini crop. All this to maintain and improve the best quality. Bert is still amazed after all these years how fast the plant can grow.
Secret for the beste zucchini
Bert Doelman's secret to delivering the best quality zucchini is a number of factors; growing in a greenhouse, protecting the zucchini plant from rain and wind. In addition, the zucchinis are harvested very carefully by all colleagues and finally the final check and packaging of the zucchinis is done by Bert and his wife themselves.
Specialization yellow zucchini
Bert's ambitions for the future for the zucchini grower is to use geothermal heat and purchase more solar panels so that he is less dependent on external parties for energy. In addition, they will specialize more in yellow zucchini. That is a lot trickier to grow and Bert sees that as a challenge for the next few years.
