The Heuchera crop in the new greenhouse.
Reason for expansion
A couple of years ago, Walberton Nursery decided to take the opportunity to replace old obsolete glass with modern computer controlled facilities. "The reason for this expansion is the fact that we wanted better control and monitoring of the glasshouse environment and to improve all other aspects of production such as crop protection," says Wainwright.
The new greenhouse. It brings Walberton's glass area up to over 14,400 M2 of growing space (not including pathways etc).
Greenhouse
The new greenhouse was constructed by KG Greenhouses in 2015. It has a has a size of 3,816m2 and has the capacity of cultivating over 68,000 2 liter spaced plants. "It is a Triple Venlo greenhouse with thermal screens. The climate and irrigation is controlled by a Tomtech computer and the irrigation has been supplied by Cameron Irrigation," says Wainwright. Rain water capture from the roof was an important part of the design, and three water tanks with a storage capacity of 750 m3 with further 250m3 rain attenuation buffer restricting flow downstream have also been constructed.
The new greenhouse.
Crop more consistent
The Heuchera is the first crop that is being cultivated in the new greenhouse at Walberton Nursery and they are nearly all sold. "We are very satisfied with the results. The main difference with the new glass is controllability. The Heucheras are more consistent and even, as the environment is better controlled in terms of irrigation, shading and venting," says Wainwright. This also counts for other crops that will be cultivated in the greenhouse. "Besides Heucheras, we will grow more other crops in this greenhouse. The next crops that have now been potted are Lavenders, Fuchsias and Digitalis. They will be ready for sale during the summer," he says.
Next to the glasshouses, Walberton Nursery also has 18,000 m2 of polythene tunnels and cloches and about the same area of outside growing space + 2 off-site nurseries that they manage with more glass and plastic tunnels and cloches.
Walberton Nursery
Walberton Nursery was established in 1973 in West Sussex, the UK. They started with growing tomatoes and some conifers. Currently, they are completely focused on ornamentals and mainly on hardy plants. "Our product range includes shrubs such as camellias, herbaceous perennials and patio plants," says Wainwright. The plants are sold through The Farplants Group of which they have been a member from the very start. Together with the other group members, Walberton Nursery supplies Garden Centres in the United Kingdom. "Each of the nurseries grow their own specialties within a small area of West Sussex to provide Farplants with an unbeatable range of garden plants," says Wainwright.
For more information
Walberton Nursery
Mike Wainwright
Email: admin@walberton.idps.co.uk
www.walberton-nursery.co.uk