CJ Orchids

CJ Orchids is led by Heimen Quik and Kees Satter. They began growing Chrysanthemum in 1992 and, since 2007, they have been producing about 3.5 million Phalaenopsis orchids per year on 4 hectares. The company has solid ambitions and a keen eye for new developments. It realized that sustainability became increasingly important as many activities of horticultural companies have a major impact on the environment. So when starting the orchid cultivation an effort was made to make business operations as sustainable as possible. CJ Orchids wants to raise the bar ever higher, stay sharp and surprise the customers every time. One of the biggest challenges is to stay well informed about developments in the field of new possibilities of organic pest control in relation to plant resistance.

Sustainability

Water
Most of the water that is used is rainwater and, in addition, sometimes osmosis water (water that has been stripped of all accumulated dirt by reverse osmosis). Large water buffers ensure sufficient collection of rainwater.

For the cultivation of Phalaenopsis you need large amounts of water. The plants get the water through an ebb and flow system. Efforts are being made to use the water as efficiently as possible, while ensuring that the excess water can be reused again. All excess water is disinfected by means of UV and is ready to be used again. In addition, we have decided to use a substrate (type of potting soil) that retains more moisture, so that less water is needed and wasted.

Organic crop protection

Predatory mites are used as natural enemies of various pests. This is the ideal way for organic insect control.

To make the plant a little less tasty for insects, CJ Orchids also uses garlic oil in the casting water. The plant absorbs this water which ends up in the sap flows of the plant making the plant less tasty for the insects.

Furthermore, there are fly lamps against flying insects and UV lamps against bacteria and fungi in the nursery. Everything is supported by good climate control. Problems can also be reduced by rapid climatological intervention.

If there are any diseased plants, they are removed manually to prevent further spread. The area of the diseased plants is then immediately organically disinfected. All control is done in an organic way.

Energy
Sustainability is also achieved by generating our own electricity. This is done by means of a combined heat and power system (CHP). All energy obtained in this process is used, such as residual heat. Residual heat is used to heat the greenhouse, CO₂ is filtered out of the exhaust gases and used to make the plants grow.

CJ Orchids is in possession of the environmental certificates MPS-A, MPS-GAP and MPS SQ.

– MPS-A – indicates the level of sustainability of the company’s operations.

– MPS-GAP – for companies that supply to retailers and concerns traceability, environment, safety and hygiene. MPS-GAP is the next step beyond MPS-A on the road to sustainability.

– MPS SQ – relates to the social aspects of business operations

People

Many retail chains do not only pay attention to the environment, but increasingly focus on the social aspects of business operations. That is why CJ Orchids has also obtained the required certificates (MPS-SQ) in the field of employee relations.

All employees of CJ Orchids are treated equally. They are treated in a way that the owners of Heimen and Kees would also like to be treated: with respect. Discrimination is not tolerated.

An informal working environment is being created in which employees can quickly take responsibility and work independently.

CJ Orchids is happy to invest in the development of its staff through training courses. The prerequisite is that they show quality and ambition. For those of course, there is also the possibility to grow.

All employees are employed by the company. CJ Orchids applies the statutory provisions of the Collective Labour Agreement for greenhouse horticulture with regard to employment contracts, working hours, leave etc. There is also a safety and hygiene protocol in place to ensure safety and health during the work carried out within the company.

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

Phalaenopsis:

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.