Animals

When you visit the greenhouses of Annie and Jeroen do not be surprised if you see a quail or two scampering around! Jeroen “We have around 60 quails running around our greenhouse and they are truly doing a great job in keeping young weeds in check”. The quails also seem very happy with the construction as they wonder between the tomato plants in search of fresh, healthy and organic weeds. “We bought in the eggs from a specialist and my father ensured that they hatched properly …. They now live permanently in our greenhouse and at the end of the day receive additional food and water”.

When it comes to living creatures, there is a lot more to see in the Yona greenhouse. If you take a little time to study the plants and flowers you will notice a wide variety of fascinating insects. The reason for this is that since organic agriculture prohibits the use of agro chemicals, growers like Yona have to rely on nature to combat harmful insects and fight diseases.  This is necessary is because today’s consumer rightly expects a high quality product without insects or fungi. “Natural crop protection” is a fancy name for letting nature take care of itself.  Basically what happens is that natural predators are introduced into the greenhouse to feed on the harmful insects that can negatively affect the plant and the fruit.  Ladybirds, parasitic wasps and “fast action” mite predators cannot go long without food and therefore they actively hunt other “harmful” insects. 

Another insect that is also often found in Jeroen and Annie’s greenhouse but with a completely different job is the bumble bee. These hard workers pollinate the flowers of the cucumber, tomato, pepper and aubergine plants in an extremely effective manner.  Just as their cousins, the honeybees, bumblebees, are able to pollinate the flower at exactly the right time. Compared to their “cousins” bumblebees cope much better with low temperatures and lower light levels and generally work more quickly.