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'Green manure is a full-fledged crop'
"Keeping the soil in top condition is actually just as much a sport for us as bulb cultivation itself." This focus on soil health is clearly visible in the business operations of Flower Bulb Nursery QJ Vink en Zonen. "I consider the green manure crops Japanese oats, marigolds and fodder radish as full crops."
Ronald Vink is responsible for the cultivation activities in the company that he runs with his brother and 2 cousins. "My father and uncles also paid a lot of attention to the soil and we are doing that now. With green compost, inundation and maximum use of green manure fertilizers, we know how to keep our soil healthy and resilient."
Organic matter
"Since we demand a lot from the soil, you also have to bring in as much as possible. We process all our organic waste together with straw, wood chips and solid manure into beautiful green compost. After every bulb cultivation comes a green manure: depending on the pre- and post-cultivation tagetes, Doublet fodder radish of Silky Japanese oats."
Grown with care
The Doublet fodder radish invariably comes in between 2 tulip crops and is grown with care. "If you sow it neatly and add nitrogen fertilizer, you get a beautiful, intensively rooting and massive crop of 1 to 1,5 meters high. We have been sowing Doublet for years because of its broad control of harmful nematodes and its late flowering."
"After flailing and milling, we spread compost and leave the soil alone for 3 weeks, so that the soil life can do its work. The soil has a beautiful structure and various nematodes and the tobacco rattle virus have been cleaned up by the Doublet fodder radish, a perfect starting point for another tulip cultivation."
Would you like to know more about green manures for a healthy, resilient soil?
Select the optimal green manure for your construction plan here.
Ronald Vink is responsible for the cultivation activities in the company.
