BB Plant

BB Plant is a nursery specialized since 2000 in growing Zanthedeschia’s or Calla’s. Owner Bram Breugem is supported daily by a team of 10 people.

BB Plant is a company that likes to distinguish itself by putting sustainability and quality first. They do not invest millions in company facilities, or expensive marketing; BB Plant invests in growing good and ‘fair’ plants. Results are noticeable thanks to the fact that they plant heavy and large bulbs in the pots and that the plant is given a longer period to grow. The Calla’s of BB Plant are beautifully wide and full of flowers. And all this with an environmentally conscious approach!

Sustainability

Water
At BB Plant water is used very consciously. The plants mainly receive rainwater that is collected on the greenhouse deck and is stored in water reservoirs via a piping system. If the quantity of rainwater is insufficient, spring water is used. The necessary nutrients for the plants are first added to this water. Excess water (water not absorbed by the plants) is collected in separate reservoirs, purified and reused. In this way, no nutrients will disappear into the environment. This is called a ‘closed’ water system. The water consumption of BB Plant has no influence on the drinking water supplies in the region.

The plants get water through a rain irrigation system above the crop and an ebb and flow system. Via a gutter a wave of water flows along the plants, which absorb it. Any water that is not absorbed, is collected and used again.

Biodiversity
Unfortunately, every crop sometimes get affected by diseases and pests, as are the Calla’s of BB Plant. In order to combat hazards such as insects, they decided to deploy a natural enemy.

Climate
BB Plant separates all its waste. The green waste is processed into compost, which means a reduction in CO₂ emissions. 50% of the required energy comes from the residual heat from a power plant. The remaining 50% comes from an (internal) generator that partly supplies electricity and partly heats the cultivation site.

By using screen cloth installations, solar heat and computer systems, the use of energy is kept to a minimum.

The potting soil consists of 50% coconut cuttings. These coconut cuttings come from composted coconuts. By using coconut cuttings, the percentage of peat soil in the potting soil is greatly reduced.

People

Within BB Plant it is very important that every employee feels at home. This regardless of age, gender, nationality, etc. Therefore, staff is not selected based on these characteristics. There is perfect harmony between all the different employees within the company. Both in management and on the work floor. Respect for each other is what is of paramount importance to everyone. All permanent staff are paid according to the standards of the Collective Labour Agreement for glasshouse horticulture.

Employee development is important. Within the company, everyone has the opportunity to grow in his or her position. As it is important that employees have good accommodation, the company provides assistance where necessary to find suitable housing. After all, a good home is the basis for everyone to be able to perform well every day.

Health

Did you know that flowers and plants have a healthy effect on people?

Plants provide air purification..
People breathe in air, take out oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. In the case of plants it is the other way around. During photosynthesis, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and convert it back into oxygen. The amount of oxygen in the air is increased by the presence of plants, which makes breathing easier.
Air-purifying plants can absorb harmful substances from the air through their leaves. These harmful substances are then stored and broken down in the plant’s roots. These plants can also break down dirty odours, so they are actually natural air fresheners.
For the sake of clarity, every (indoor) plant produces oxygen, but not every plant also purifies the air. Air-purifying plants are e.g. the Spathiphyllum, Calathea, Hedera helix (ivy), Areca palm and the Ficus. For many plants we do not yet know to what extent they have an air purifying effect since they have not yet been tested.
Plants ensure a better concentration and a reduction of stress.
Plants create a relaxed and better atmosphere, also at work.. Plants make the workplace a more pleasant place to work.
Apparently there is even a relationship between the presence of plants and the productivity of employees.
Moreover, the presence of plants has a positive effect on the creativity and concentration of people.
Plants reduce the dryness of the air
The dust content and humidity in the house are strongly related with each other. The dryer the air, the more dust. This can cause symptoms such as a tickling cough, dry skin, headaches and irritated eyes. By watering plants, it finally evaporates again through the stomata in the leaves. Plants can thus increase the humidity of the air, which therefore benefits the air quality.
Plants provide a pleasant and warm feeling
Research has shown that plants are good for people in various (subtle) ways. They play an essential role in creating a pleasant, natural and quiet environment in which to move, work and/or relax.
Did you know that flowers too have a healthy effect on people?
Flowers can brighten up any room in a magical way. They give meaning to our emotions such as love, joy, comfort, compassion and sorrow. Flowers provide a relaxing effect on our constitution. They provide positive energy in the home and a warm feeling. In short, everyone is just very happy about that!

Care

Zantedeschia:

Innovation

The Dutch greenhouse horticulture sector is worldwide renowned for its innovative power. In order to be one step ahead of the competition from other parts of the world, people are constantly looking for better efficiency in the use of raw materials and space. This, of course, without compromising the (top) quality of the Dutch product.

The glasshouse horticulture sector in the Netherlands can cope with this rapid pace of innovation thanks to a strong relationship between research and practice. In addition, a great deal of knowledge is exchanged between the entrepreneurs in order to make progress together. The flower auctions are a good example of this as one of the largest cooperatives in the world.
Below we describe a few examples of this innovative power.

Biological control and integrated pest management
In order to minimise the use of pesticides and to find a better balance between parasites and their natural enemies, natural enemies of the parasites are used in the greenhouses. Thanks to the intensive exchange of knowledge between the growers and their suppliers, growers are increasingly able to produce a top quality product with organic solutions.

Combined heat and power (CHP)
Combined heat and power (CHP) is a large engine, originating from the shipping industry. Only it has been converted to run on natural gas. The efficiency of this motor is higher than traditional gas boilers. These engines drive a generator that generates electricity. This electricity is used in the company’s own nursery or is supplied back to the public electricity grid. The ‘residual heat’ produced by the engine is used to heat the greenhouses. After cleaning, the exhaust gases can be used to provide the plants with CO2. All in all, these motors provide an efficiency that can be up to 20% higher than the traditional method of heating (gas boilers).

Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is used for this type of energy. A drilling tower is used to drill a well to a depth of 2-3 km. At this depth, water of more than 80 degrees can be ‘collected’. This heat is used to heat the greenhouses and then the cooled water is returned to the soil via a second source. It is expected that these sources will be able to continue to produce sufficient heat, even longer than the life of a greenhouse.

Drilling the well is an enormously expensive investment. In addition, there is a great risk that the drilling will ‘fail’. By working together with each other and with governments, in the Netherlands we are able to gain experience with this way of heating greenhouses sustainably.

Water purification
Plants need water and nutrients to grow. More and more nurseries are making use of the reuse of drainage water. This is water that is collected before it disappears into the subsoil. This ‘drainage water’ still contains many nutrients that can be used by the plants.
By reusing this water and mixing it with clean water, less fertilizer is used.
However, the drainage water also contains some ‘wrong substances’. The content of these wrong substances determines how much water can be reused. The application of new techniques creates opportunities to filter these ‘wrong substances’ out of the water.

Diffuse glass
In new constructions, more and more growers are opting to cover their greenhouses with diffuse glass. Diffuse glass ensures that light is distributed much more evenly across the crop without any shade or light spots. This leads to a more even greenhouse climate.
Temperature and humidity can thus be controlled more accurately, which means, for example, that the opening of the air windows can be limited, which leads to lower CO2 emissions.

LED lighting in greenhouse horticulture
A new innovation in horticulture is the use of LED lighting. This lighting is not comparable with LED lighting used in consumer use. In the horticultural sector, the lighting is produced by ‘power LEDs’ and therefore much higher. The major advantage of these ‘power LEDs’ is related to sustainable business practices: energy savings compared to high-pressure sodium lamps (orange-coloured lighting). This saves more than half of the energy.
Another major advantage is that when using LEDs, crops can be better controlled using the different colours in the light. This is in favour of a better growth and a higher quality of the product.