NZ Hothouse
NZ Hothouse has developed in the past decade two massive glasshouse complexes in South Auckland, totalling 20ha under glass, for the year-round production of tomatoes, capsicums and cucumbers.
These glasshouses are all computer controlled temperature and ventilation, plus automated hydroponics. The heating is provided with natural gas boilers, which also provide carbon dioxide used to improve plant growth. All growing is done hydroponically, with plants established in rockwool, then planted in bags of pumice or blocks of rockwool and coconut fibre. The nutrient solution is circulated several times a day, using water supplies saved from the huge glasshouse roof and supplemented from bore water.
Plants are trained on supports hanging down from the roof structure and grow fruit for 10 months before replacement. They are tended and harvested three times a week, as the fruit ripens. Heat comes from hot water circulating in pipes suspended like rails above the floor, on which the trolleys for plant training and fruit picking also run. The planted bags sit on reflective plastic, which provides more light and eliminates the need for herbicides to control weeds. CO2 is produced as a by-product of burning natural gas in the boilers, and it is reticulated into the glasshouses to raise the air concentration from 160 parts per million to 800 ppm, which boost plant growth and performance.
NZ Hothouse employs 300 staff members, for greenhouse work and for the packing operations, which consist of the latest visual and infra-red scanning for quality control, plus leading edge packaging technology. The company also has outside supplying growers and packs lettuces from off-site.
Brett Wharfe, Managing Director, initiated the development of NZ Hothouse from 1988 onwards with a vision of an integrated growing, packaging and marketing business. Ten years later David Levene acquired a share of the company as a passive investment. Owner and managing director Brett Wharfe and other directors Simon Watson (finance), Lex Dillon (sales), and Graeme Wharfe (operations) now run the company with Luke Marks, general manager, growing.
Integrated pest management
The controlled environment under glass leads to minimal use of chemicals on the crops. Temperature and air flow are maintained to eliminate mildew and a beneficial insect, called encasia formosa (a parasitic wasp) controls whitefly. The encasia wasp parasitizes whitefly, by laying its eggs in whitefly eggs. This breaks the whitefly life cycle without having to spray. NZ Hothouse also brings in bumble bees to naturally pollinate the flowers. Brett Wharfe says he cannot say he will never spray, but that the incidence or need has been reduced down to almost zero.
Products and marketing
NZ Hothouse produces 12 different tomato varieties and presentations including loose, prepacked in several sizes, trusses, cherry and acid-free telegraph, short green and Lebanese cucumbers, capsicums loose and in multipacks and hydroponic lettuces.
It supplies wholesalers, major supermarket chains, food service companies and restaurants. Forward supply contracts are signed, but prices are adjusted weekly according to the level of the market, competition, volumes etc. Packed fruit is branded with Summerhouse, Vintage Harvest and Royale, usually printed onto the flow-wrapping.
NZ Hothouse currently exports tomatoes and capsicums, to customers in the South Pacfic, Australia and throughout Asia. Progressive Enterprises, through Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown, is the largest single customer.
Issues
A major issue for the whole greenhouse industry is the looming carbon tax (April 2007) which will substantially boost the energy costs of heated facilities, which are essential to provide year-round supplies and year-round employment. Over 80% of the greenhouses in New Zealand are heated, which along with hydroponics and modern glasshouse design has produced a revolution in capability and in industry structure.
The membership of tomato growers sector of Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation (Vegfed) has fallen from 1000 to 300, which are now much bigger than before. Most of the heated facilities have been built in the past decade, at an industry investment cost of $400 million-plus, and are heated by either coal or natural gas. Both fuels will be taken at $15/tonne CO2 equivalent, which will add between $2 million and $6 million to the industrys costs. NZ Hothouse has estimated the cost at $650,000pa upper limit. Added to the rising costs of energy, the tax will make exports uncompetitive and will let inferior, outdoor-grown Australia production back into the NZ domestic market. This supply is more limited in variety, unreliable and chemically treated.
Another issue for NZ Hothouse is labour supply, when NZ has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. Seasonal fruit and vegetable production competes with higher wages for the limited number of willing workers. The skill level required in glasshouse work and packaging dictates longer-term employees, and the heated glasshouse facilities provide full-year employment on a range of different jobs. Brett Wharfe said in his 20 years of growing he has never known the labour market to be so tight. The company employs a team of human resources people.
Biosecurity is very important at NZ Hothouse, with shoe cleaning pads and other measures to guard against viruses and other diseases.
These glasshouses are all computer controlled temperature and ventilation, plus automated hydroponics. The heating is provided with natural gas boilers, which also provide carbon dioxide used to improve plant growth. All growing is done hydroponically, with plants established in rockwool, then planted in bags of pumice or blocks of rockwool and coconut fibre. The nutrient solution is circulated several times a day, using water supplies saved from the huge glasshouse roof and supplemented from bore water.
Plants are trained on supports hanging down from the roof structure and grow fruit for 10 months before replacement. They are tended and harvested three times a week, as the fruit ripens. Heat comes from hot water circulating in pipes suspended like rails above the floor, on which the trolleys for plant training and fruit picking also run. The planted bags sit on reflective plastic, which provides more light and eliminates the need for herbicides to control weeds. CO2 is produced as a by-product of burning natural gas in the boilers, and it is reticulated into the glasshouses to raise the air concentration from 160 parts per million to 800 ppm, which boost plant growth and performance.
NZ Hothouse employs 300 staff members, for greenhouse work and for the packing operations, which consist of the latest visual and infra-red scanning for quality control, plus leading edge packaging technology. The company also has outside supplying growers and packs lettuces from off-site.
Brett Wharfe, Managing Director, initiated the development of NZ Hothouse from 1988 onwards with a vision of an integrated growing, packaging and marketing business. Ten years later David Levene acquired a share of the company as a passive investment. Owner and managing director Brett Wharfe and other directors Simon Watson (finance), Lex Dillon (sales), and Graeme Wharfe (operations) now run the company with Luke Marks, general manager, growing.
Integrated pest management
The controlled environment under glass leads to minimal use of chemicals on the crops. Temperature and air flow are maintained to eliminate mildew and a beneficial insect, called encasia formosa (a parasitic wasp) controls whitefly. The encasia wasp parasitizes whitefly, by laying its eggs in whitefly eggs. This breaks the whitefly life cycle without having to spray. NZ Hothouse also brings in bumble bees to naturally pollinate the flowers. Brett Wharfe says he cannot say he will never spray, but that the incidence or need has been reduced down to almost zero.
Products and marketing
NZ Hothouse produces 12 different tomato varieties and presentations including loose, prepacked in several sizes, trusses, cherry and acid-free telegraph, short green and Lebanese cucumbers, capsicums loose and in multipacks and hydroponic lettuces.
It supplies wholesalers, major supermarket chains, food service companies and restaurants. Forward supply contracts are signed, but prices are adjusted weekly according to the level of the market, competition, volumes etc. Packed fruit is branded with Summerhouse, Vintage Harvest and Royale, usually printed onto the flow-wrapping.
NZ Hothouse currently exports tomatoes and capsicums, to customers in the South Pacfic, Australia and throughout Asia. Progressive Enterprises, through Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown, is the largest single customer.
Issues
A major issue for the whole greenhouse industry is the looming carbon tax (April 2007) which will substantially boost the energy costs of heated facilities, which are essential to provide year-round supplies and year-round employment. Over 80% of the greenhouses in New Zealand are heated, which along with hydroponics and modern glasshouse design has produced a revolution in capability and in industry structure.
The membership of tomato growers sector of Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation (Vegfed) has fallen from 1000 to 300, which are now much bigger than before. Most of the heated facilities have been built in the past decade, at an industry investment cost of $400 million-plus, and are heated by either coal or natural gas. Both fuels will be taken at $15/tonne CO2 equivalent, which will add between $2 million and $6 million to the industrys costs. NZ Hothouse has estimated the cost at $650,000pa upper limit. Added to the rising costs of energy, the tax will make exports uncompetitive and will let inferior, outdoor-grown Australia production back into the NZ domestic market. This supply is more limited in variety, unreliable and chemically treated.
Another issue for NZ Hothouse is labour supply, when NZ has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. Seasonal fruit and vegetable production competes with higher wages for the limited number of willing workers. The skill level required in glasshouse work and packaging dictates longer-term employees, and the heated glasshouse facilities provide full-year employment on a range of different jobs. Brett Wharfe said in his 20 years of growing he has never known the labour market to be so tight. The company employs a team of human resources people.
Biosecurity is very important at NZ Hothouse, with shoe cleaning pads and other measures to guard against viruses and other diseases.