“It is the best steerable slab for peppers I've ever worked with"
Van der Burg Paprika’s in Est was one of the first sweet pepper nurseries to use the Grodan Supreme slab for peppers. After an initial introductory trial in 2015 and a trial on 1000 m2 in 2016, the company changed to growing all its crops on the new top substrate for peppers in 2017.
Back in the trial phase, co-owner Nieki van der Burg already noticed how easy it was to steer the crops growing in the Supreme slab to the right balance and maintain that balance. “In winter and early spring the slab shows a quite vegetative response so that plants grow fast and set fruit with ease" he says. “After the end of summer sweet pepper plants naturally become more vegetative. The important thing then is steering the plants generatively, which is no problem at all on these slabs. Irrigation is simple, as the mats don't easily get too wet. And if you skip an irrigation session, it's not a problem either.” The good steerability of the root zone and the steady plant balance translate into a high yield and larger volumes of top quality peppers, marketed under the So Unique brand.
Stronger roots, more vigorous, vital crops
Grodan Supreme is a stone wool slab that was specifically developed for sweet pepper growing (V-system). The basis of the slab is NG2.0 substrate technology. This guarantees extremely homogenous water distribution, a stronger, finely branched root system, a crop that maintains its vitality all year round and precision control of the water content and EC in the root zone. After gaining more than two years of practical experience with the Supreme slab for peppers Van der Burg can confirm that the slab delivers on its promises. So it's no surprise that the company has opted for the slab again this year. “It is the best steerable slab for peppers I've ever worked with" is how Nieki sums it up. “It took some getting used to initially, but I wouldn't be without it now. Well, unless an even better slab comes along. We are always willing to try something new.”
