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MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Admin

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities: Local MP, Tom Tugendhat, got a first-hand look at the work Hadlow College is doing to inspire the next generation of students when he visited the College’s state-of-the-art glasshouse. Constructed in 2022, the glasshouse plays an integral part in horticulture courses and features cutting edge technology, including: Suspended […]

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lesley Spence

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition: Earlier this year Green-tech received the first delivery of the new Rainbow Professional Terra tree shelter. The new tree shelter is manufactured from UK-sourced wood that biodegrades naturally in soil. Green-tech is the largest supplier of Rainbow tree protection products in the UK and was the first to place an […]

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lesley Spence

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Admin

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities: Local MP, Tom Tugendhat, got a first-hand look at the work Hadlow College is doing to inspire the next generation of students when he visited the College’s state-of-the-art glasshouse.

Constructed in 2022, the glasshouse plays an integral part in horticulture courses and features cutting edge technology, including:

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

Suspended gutters running hydroponics for tomatoes and peppers in separate houses
LED and High Pressure sodium lighting
Vertical growing farm
Latest environmental control computers – PRIVA
Fogging systems for plant propagation
Dedicated space for individual glasshouse research
Outdoor standing down beds for shrub and herbaceous plant production
New structures for seasonal bedding plant production

Students work alongside practitioners from leading industry grower Thanet Earth to develop their skills and produce hydroponic tomatoes in the Venlo glasshouse.

The tomatoes are grown on a rockwool system using the industry training system known as layering. Scissor lifts are employed to allow students under supervision to work on the crop at height to carry out all the necessary cultural requirements of the crop. Biological control is used to control any unwanted pests, these are populations of beneficial insects.

The Venlo glasshouse is operated using PRIVA environmental control computers which also control the vertical growing farm where students grow a range of salad crops from seed and harvested as micro leaves in as little as three weeks for some crops.

A misting unit is also built into the glasshouse for the propagation of a wide range of plants from both stem cuttings and seeds with the aim of these finished plants being sold at pop-up plant sales which take place every Wednesday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm at the College outside the glasshouse.

Tom Tugendhat, Member of Parliament for Tonbridge and Malling, enjoyed his visit, saying: “The new glasshouse offers a brilliant opportunity for students to work alongside and learn from the fantastic team at Thanet Earth and I’m sure it will go a long way in supporting their development.”

“It is fantastic to see investment into our community like this. I had a great time visiting the new glasshouse at Hadlow College and it really shows how invested they are in our community.”

Chris Lydon, Vice Principal of Hadlow College, said: “We are proud to be working with Thanet Earth to produce tomatoes in our new Venlo glasshouse. This unique partnership gives students the best opportunities to develop their skills working alongside current practitioners from a leading industry grower and the produce from the tomato crop is used on site in our own student eatery and also distributed by Fair Share.”

Rob James, Technical Director of Thanet Earth added: “We have a long standing relationship with Hadlow going back to 2011 when we set up our first Fellowship with the college, the facilities we now have on site are perfect for nurturing the next generation of experts in our industry.”

The glasshouse illustrates a commitment from the College to regenerative farming and horticulture, using practices that minimize harm to the environment.

Unveiled earlier this year, the College also has a ‘robotic orchard and vineyard’.

This two-hectare area, showcases the latest technology including automated AI management systems, a state of the art irrigation, fertigation and frost protection system and automated fruit picking.

The crops are grown with sustainability in mind at all times. Drones are used to monitor bud set, predict yields and monitor the growth of the crop allowing precise applications of nutrition, pest and disease control methods to be used.

Sensors installed throughout the orchard monitor, amongst other things, moisture, relative humidity, PAR and rain fall.

To learn more about Thanet Earth, visit their website www.thanetearth.com

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Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

November 30, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lesley Spence

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition: Earlier this year Green-tech received the first delivery of the new Rainbow Professional Terra tree shelter.

The new tree shelter is manufactured from UK-sourced wood that biodegrades naturally in soil.

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

Green-tech is the largest supplier of Rainbow tree protection products in the UK and was the first to place an order while the product was still in development.

On Wednesday 21st November, Rainbow Professional attended the 2023 Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity Awards where they were delighted and proud to win the “Sustainable Product of the Year” award.

Green-tech’s marketing director Kate Humes comments, “We have worked with Rainbow Professional for many years and have collaborated closely with them whilst they developed the new Terra tree shelter. It’s the only independently certified soil biodegradable tree shelter that is 100% plant-based and non-toxic that biodegrades into healthy nutrients. It’s a tremendous product and a lot of years of R&D has gone into producing it so I am thrilled for Alex, Pierre, and the Rainbow team.”

The Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity Awards recognise the environmental benefits that companies and projects in the sector provide. The awards are on a mission to showcase the most important innovations and initiatives across the UK landscaping sector, from design and construction to product supply and manufacturing. Judges of the ‘Sustainable Product of the Year’ were looking for products that give back to the natural environment and are designed for a long lifespan, in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Pierre Talpe, Director at Rainbow Professional Limited commented: “We are so happy to receive this recognition for our work developing the Rainbow Terra over the last four years. Our industry needs to move towards tree shelters that are certified to be biodegradable in the right environments and can be left behind with a clean conscience.”

Judges’ comments include, “Great product and far better than the conventional solution.” “Good product which is underpinned by external certification regarding soil biodegradation.” “A much-needed product, I look forward to seeing how it develops.”

Rainbow Professional’s Alex Talpe adds, “We are keen to work collaboratively with the industry, as we transition to using biodegradable tree shelters. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.”

Kate concludes, “As more and more of our customers seek plastic-free tree protection alternatives I am delighted that we have added the award-winning Rainbow Terra to our rural tree planting portfolio. Green-tech is all about offering customers choice and this has proved a very popular product. Well done and good luck to the Rainbow team,”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities

MP Gets a Look at High-Tech Facilities: Local MP, Tom Tugendhat, got a first-hand look at the work Hadlow College is doing to inspire the next generation of students when he visited the College’s state-of-the-art glasshouse.

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition

Green-tech’s latest rural product addition: Earlier this year Green-tech received the first delivery of the new Rainbow Professional Terra tree shelter.

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