Blackberry grower Jeroen Pouls argues: “If you don’t try, you won’t get any wiser.” And wiser he is now. Thanks to the use of Growficient, he now knows more about his watering. This, combined with Jeroen’s vigour, has led to saving time, water, and fertilisers.
Save on time and fertilisers
Recently, he got the tip from a fellow grower. He had been using Growficient for six months and was very enthusiastic. Jeroen: “This grower owns a large company, with qualified professionals. When I saw the dashboard there, I was immediately interested.” He requested a demo.
At that time, the autumn cultivation was just moving towards the fruits. “Blackberries are very sensitive to water changes, especially in the harvest season. Excessive fluctuations cause failure.” That’s why he timely chose for a system that continuously and accurately measures plants humidity. “In a personal video call, we adjusted the settings together according to my own preferences.”
Until then, watering was done instinctively (feeling the root ball in the morning) and based on manual drain measurements. Jeroen now saves a lot of time. It only takes a glance at the dashboard to see how the humidity is doing. And that can be done any time of the day.
Growficient is worth the investment as it saves the use of fertiliser and therefore saves money due to the increased fertiliser prices
3 to 4 shots less per day
As a grower, Jeroen likes to get the most out of his farm. “Through the substrate sensor I discovered that the plant was not yet active at the time of the first watering. I’ve tried a few things here: now the first watering has been shifted by an hour.” That is not the only thing that changed in the past five weeks. Every day, three to four waterings are saved compared to before. This saves Jeroen a lot of water. That’s important, because he doesn’t recirculate.
The dashboard also pointed out that the EC level in the pot remained at the same level, meaning it needs less fertiliser. This saves a large amount of money. “It is clearly a significant saving. And because of the dashboard we are in much closer contact with it.”. Meanwhile, the plants look at least as beautiful as before.
He says it also brings him more professionalism and clarity. “In fertiliser and water management, certification is increasingly being needed. More and more insight into watering is needed. Growficient makes it much easier to show how we are doing it. Now I have a graph for the whole year, or for a few days: whatever I want display.”
Jeroen is very happy with his choice. As a smaller grower, he also recommends it to other, smaller companies. “There are other choices on the market, but they are very complicated or consist of a large number of components. Growficient is very accessible and can be applied to one’s individual needs.”
It is worth the investment as it saves the use of fertiliser and therefore saves money due to the increased fertiliser prices. “I like to get as much out of Growficient as possible. It’s important to make sure your products and crops are of quality, especially in this day and age. Starting with your own plants using Growficient.”
I am strongly convinced by the benefits of Growficient. Every day I look forward to using it
The new season: continuing with Growficient
In addition to glass cultivation, Jeroen also propagates young plants. He also wants to use the Growficient system on those crops to be closer on it. In addition, he is already looking forward to the new season. “I’ll watch the program regularly and just keep an eye on everything through that sensor,” Jeroen says. The newly achieved stability in irrigation and nutrition, makes him happy. “I am strongly convinced by the benefits of Growficient. Every day I look forward to using it. It also gives me a good feeling for the new crop. It will be very beneficial.”
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