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'Green fertilizer good for soil and appearance'
Hans Voogd runs his arable farm at the head of the island of Goeree-Overflakkee. To keep his soil healthy green manures an integral part of the building plan.
Hans is a busy man with a crop plan containing early potatoes, shallots, onion sets, gladioli, ornamental fruit, spring wheat and spinach and nasturtiums for seed production. "My father only grew flower seeds on 8 hectares, so I started very small. In this way I can still build a business with few hectares and generate an income. We now cultivate 42 hectares, from light sandy soil to very heavy clay."
Variegated soil
The plots in and around Ouddorp are very colorful. "On some plots it changes from heavy clay to light sand. We also have quite a few very light plots. We can plant potatoes under plastic there at the beginning of March. From the end of May we will harvest about one hectare every week, before July 1 those plots are ready again. empty. The shallots and onion sets are also out of the field early. I can grow a nice green manure there, which remains until after the winter."
limiting nematodes
De green manures are a fully-fledged part of the construction plan for Hans. His choice of green manure starts with a cultivation goal. "Harmful nematodes are a risk on the lighter plots. Where necessary, I contain them, based on soil samples and observations, in Doublet Plus multi-resistant fodder radish. Chitwoodi in particular can cause problems here, which we keep under control with the Doublet. not necessary, then I opt for as much organic matter as possible, since 2 years with LG Orgamax† a mixture of sunflowers, yellow mustard and Japanese oats."
Maximum organic matter
Hans discusses the choice of green manure with his cultivation advisor Jan van Vugt of Van Iperen. "Orgamax appealed to me because of the beautiful image and the organic matter. On the light plots I try to supply maximum organic matter with green manure and compost. If I didn't do anything there, I would be left with beach sand. I try to prevent even more with NKG. That worked well this spring after the Orgamax, which freezes well and leaves residues that pulverize nicely. The soil structure was nicely grainy underneath."
"From LG Orgamax develops very quickly in the beginning. This is necessary, because the weed pressure is high on the light soil. Later the sunflowers will bloom and that is a beautiful sight. Local residents and tourists who come here in large numbers react very enthusiastically. I think that's important too, to put our sector in a good light. And I can really enjoy that myself."
