At Ammerlaan-Sosef in Honselersdijk (the Netherlands), pot Chrysanthemums made their return last year. "Most of the year we grow Celosias, and in winter Primula as well as Cyclamen at Christmas. But now our company has grown bigger, we have taken up growing pot chrysanthemums again, a crop my father once started," Jeffrey Ammerlaan says. In his search for cooling, he ended up with an energy-efficient 40ft container from Dawsongroup Benelux, suitable for temperatures from -40 to +45 degrees.
"For the other plants, we didn't need a cold room, but that changed with the pot chrysanthemum. This crop can turn from raw to ripe in five days. The flowering continues and sometimes you need to be able to put a batch in cold storage to deliver the plants at the right stage. Last year, we sometimes put the plants in the shed out of the sun, but if it is 20 degrees or warmer, flowering continues. With the cold room we rent, we can block that."
"I think Dawsongroup ranks quite high in Google because I came to them quite quickly. At first, I was triggered because they also rented cooling tents. Those were sold out, but then Jelle Witjens from Dawsongroup suggested a container. I don't have a big shed, so I wondered whether they would get one in. However, he thought it would work. It was indeed a bit tricky, but fortunately, we had an experienced crane operator to get the container inside. It was done within an hour."
Killing two birds with one stone
They liked the container so much that Jeffrey immediately rented another one for the nursery's second location in Honselersdijk. "I had only worked with it for one or two weeks, and it worked so well that I immediately rented a second one for the other location.There I didn't have the space in the shed, but by putting the container outside I could immediately increase the shed capacity and refrigerate the chrysanthemums. So we could kill two birds with one stone."
Jeffrey rents the containers for 13 weeks. "As we are heading towards autumn, it's time for the pot chrysanthemums. We might rent them a bit longer, if we are to grow more pot chrysanthemums. Yet, for now, I am very happy with this opportunity. It can hold 33 Danish trolleys, meaning we can put about 10,000 plants in the container. Since we are a 'seasonal grower' it's perfect. Working with Jelle was a pleasure, and also the price was well worth the flexibility."
For more information:
Jeffrey Ammerlaan
Ammerlaan-Sosef
Sprongenloet 5a
2675 KV Honselersdijk, the Netherlands
[email protected]
www.ammerlaan-sosef.nl
Jelle Witjens
Dawsongroup Benelux
Tel : +31 (0)10 495 29 55
Mob : +31 (0)6 12 20 06 60
[email protected]
www.dawsongroup.nl