Observations
We pulled into the driveway at 9:30am. We were greeted by Mr.Batenburg who is the owner of the green house. He is tall male with black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a gray plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He shook our hand and introduced himself. The greenhouse was situated behind the owner’s house. He escorted us into the green house which was a 5 foot walk from the driveway.
We walked into the front door into the packing room. This room is a big empty room where we were told that the flowers are packed into boxes before they’re shipped into deliveries. Mr. Batenburg asked us if we were interested in a fast tour. We walked out of the packing room into the main path of the greenhouse. The smell was a fresh, strong smell of flowers and dirt. In front of us were rows and rows of flowers of all colours.
We turned left to go into another part of the greenhouse. We were told that this was called the Cutting House. This is a big room filled with lots of green plants. There are tables with rows of cuttings. There is one lady in this room and she is picking the cutting from large plants. We are told that this is her job every week. Mr. Batenburg explains to us that they do not use seeds, instead they dip cuttings into a rooting powder and stick it into a small pod of dirt. After a week the cutting should have taken up roots and it gets transplanted into a flower bed.
We then leave the Cutting House and go back onto the main path. We continue walking down this path and pass rows of flowers. We come up to an area where there are no flowers, it is just rows of dirt. There are five workers here. We are told that they are planting the cuttings into the ground, this is the transplanting process. Once they have been planted, they are left to grow for 2 months. After 2 months they have grown fully, blooms open, and are ready to cut. We continue walking down the path past more rows of flowers and turn left.
We are taken into the Boiler Room. In this room there are two large boilers. Mr. Batenburg told us that these boilers are used in the winter to keep the greenhouses warm. This room also has shelves and storage area that is used to keep maintenance materials and tools.
We then walked out of the Boiler Room and back onto the main path. We walked further along the main path and stopped next to some flower beds where the flowers had not yet bloomed. Mr. Batenburg told us that before the flowers bloom, the workers need to disbud some of the flowers. He showed us that they would go down the small paths between each flower bed and remove the center bud from each flower stem. He told us that it can take one worker up to two hours to do only four flower beds.
After being shown how to disbud, we were walked back to the main path. We walked to the end of the green house. We turned left and were shown where the water pumps are kept. Mr. Batenburg told us that this is what controls the watering schedule for the whole greenhouse. There is a door to outside right next to the water pumps. Right behind the greenhouse there is a large pond. We were told that this is where the greenhouse gets all its water. There is a small wind mill that pumps the water into the greenhouse pumps which spreads it to the rest of the greenhouse.
Mr. Batenburg walked us back to the front of the greenhouse and gave us each a bouquet of flowers to take home. We thanked him for showing us is business. We got into the car and left.
We walked into the front door into the packing room. This room is a big empty room where we were told that the flowers are packed into boxes before they’re shipped into deliveries. Mr. Batenburg asked us if we were interested in a fast tour. We walked out of the packing room into the main path of the greenhouse. The smell was a fresh, strong smell of flowers and dirt. In front of us were rows and rows of flowers of all colours.
We turned left to go into another part of the greenhouse. We were told that this was called the Cutting House. This is a big room filled with lots of green plants. There are tables with rows of cuttings. There is one lady in this room and she is picking the cutting from large plants. We are told that this is her job every week. Mr. Batenburg explains to us that they do not use seeds, instead they dip cuttings into a rooting powder and stick it into a small pod of dirt. After a week the cutting should have taken up roots and it gets transplanted into a flower bed.
We then leave the Cutting House and go back onto the main path. We continue walking down this path and pass rows of flowers. We come up to an area where there are no flowers, it is just rows of dirt. There are five workers here. We are told that they are planting the cuttings into the ground, this is the transplanting process. Once they have been planted, they are left to grow for 2 months. After 2 months they have grown fully, blooms open, and are ready to cut. We continue walking down the path past more rows of flowers and turn left.
We are taken into the Boiler Room. In this room there are two large boilers. Mr. Batenburg told us that these boilers are used in the winter to keep the greenhouses warm. This room also has shelves and storage area that is used to keep maintenance materials and tools.
We then walked out of the Boiler Room and back onto the main path. We walked further along the main path and stopped next to some flower beds where the flowers had not yet bloomed. Mr. Batenburg told us that before the flowers bloom, the workers need to disbud some of the flowers. He showed us that they would go down the small paths between each flower bed and remove the center bud from each flower stem. He told us that it can take one worker up to two hours to do only four flower beds.
After being shown how to disbud, we were walked back to the main path. We walked to the end of the green house. We turned left and were shown where the water pumps are kept. Mr. Batenburg told us that this is what controls the watering schedule for the whole greenhouse. There is a door to outside right next to the water pumps. Right behind the greenhouse there is a large pond. We were told that this is where the greenhouse gets all its water. There is a small wind mill that pumps the water into the greenhouse pumps which spreads it to the rest of the greenhouse.
Mr. Batenburg walked us back to the front of the greenhouse and gave us each a bouquet of flowers to take home. We thanked him for showing us is business. We got into the car and left.