As of next year, Schneider youngplants will switch completely to GreenPlug paper pots from Green Products. They did not take any chances, because the plug plays an essential role in the propagation of young plants and must meet a lot of requirements. In addition, the plug optimally combines with a new 128-hole tray, which the companies have developed in collaboration with the supplier, Korean company J’T House.
Peter den Toom and Zsófia Simó of Schneider, together with Matthijs van den Berg of Green Products
The tray and plug must work well together in order to achieve the best result. First of all, the plug must fit properly. The roots must be able to develop well through the entire tray and grow through the plug on all sides. The drainage must also be good, so the tray stands, as it were, on a small elevation and is open at the bottom. This makes drainage possible and also allows air circulation, which in turn has a favorable effect on the rooting. The plug itself is proportionally filled by a technique borrowed from the tobacco industry. Moreover, this good distribution ensures a good moisture balance in the peat, which is always cumbersome because wet peat dries with difficulty, while once dried peat has difficulty in absorbing water again. All in all, this tray-plug combination makes it easier to control the propagation, ensuring a more uniform result.
"For a long time there have been customers asking whether they can receive material in paper pots," says Peter den Toom, responsible for quality at Schneider. “This and the fact that we want to keep up with the developments in the market and keep improving ourselves, made us look at the possibilities. We have done several tests and the product from Green Products turned out to be the best from the test."
What also made him and colleagues opt for this product was the help and involvement of Green Products in the development of the new tray. The plug producer does not say ‘thank you and have fun with it’, says Matthijs van den Berg, but likes to stay informed about the findings of the customer. “We want to develop the GreenPlug further in the coming years and that is best achieved by looking at the performance in practice. Only in practice you can really find out which points you can improve on or optimize.”
Finally, the paper plug improves the manageability. "They can be processed by machine, which was a requirement for us," concludes Peter. “Moreover, customers are satisfied because it makes it easier for them to work with it. We have already received many positive reactions from customers from different corners of Europe. We have made a good start and hope to send out more than 10 million young plants in the coming year.”
For more information:
Green Products B.V.
E: [email protected]
www.greenproducts.nl
Schneider Younplants 
E: [email protected]
www.schneiderbv.nl