The Lucknow Sentinel, 1996-03-13, Page 68P .A fFA -Fnu Pro r( r ip
.nereece trade in imlue of your
machine. ,Contictentl I,ubricate,d
machines wear better
Increasepiocke-t" and chain Ufe
up ti three times longer;:
Lubricate critical sprocket and chain-
parts without leaving your tractorseat or
-shutting- down
self propelled
wheel" trucks
you can depend on
RR. #5, God r ch
FASTCi NT -AF D4, E•
35,000 G,ais. per, hour, t C yrs. a perience
Se(f•Ptopellpd'Boom Agitator and two Prop .Agitators Available
Thin Franker (519) 5241 56 Do tYateasfitat
Nell Hanna
In the Foothill Greenhouses
beside Rolland Marsh, cs input
er systems work with nature to
provide an ideal onvfr meat
'for seedless cucumbers. bers. `hese
systems monitor and control the
temperature of the air and: the
soil around plant roots, relative
humidity, nutrient 'levels, water -
tag even the amount of ear- .
hon dioxide in the air.
'The high tech aspect is what
. really. like about growing
greenhouse eukes,A; -says Ron:
Voorberg, Ron and his wife
Hilda -Ann are owners and oper-
ators of Foothill .Greentduses.
"Carbon dioxide is the newest
system we've. put in. They've
had Ihem in Europe for a couple
of yeais, but we're one of only
about six in Ontario that I know
of,"
Like all green plants, cucum-
ber vines take in carbon dioxide
during the day and give off oxer-
gen. Although the flow. is
'reversedat night, the concentra-
tion of carbon dioxide in the
enclosed environment - Of .a win-
ter greenhouse can drop to a
level where it can affect the
plants, The Foothill system
increases the amount .of carbon
dioxide in the air by venting
natural gas burners directly inti
the greenhouses
"The gases are constantly
monitored so we can keep ideal
levels and make sure it's. safe. It
makes a.big difference to plant
vigour,‘" says .Ron. Because the
heat from the gas burners .is
rarely needed during ' the =.day, it
.
is stored in,, a hot ° water system
to be called on . after sunset.
Here,too, the *environmental
consideration is . strong, Wood
burners provide most of the heat
nature cooperate
-for Ow bnlrse They b s41,v,
dust find scrap wool frron, a
nearby kitchen Qabtnet mann-
facturer is ughly • 2,590 .tonnes
of waste .each year that would,
ise be sent t a Wand.ili.
?they relatively now trend
t T ;holdisin Foothill
Greenhouses the return to
nature's ways .with biological
control of .greenhouses pests:..
Although' they still occasionally
have to use chemical control to,
clean: ,up more serious infesta-
tions, early problems can be
controlled with natural proda-'
tors arid. parasites, "We have. to
be proactiveg0; says. Ron," and
catch -things early. Wecan keep
•. diseases pretty well ender con-
A trot by managing the climate:
*tut'n to page 11A
Foothill Greenhouses, oWned and operated by Ron . and
Hilda -Ann Vol
orberg,,.carrers 150,000 square feet: 50,000
'under glass and 100,000 under. plastic - growing seed-
less cucumbers year-round.:
Clean, economical propane. Proven, money -saving appliances.
Blyth 519-523-4256 1-800-561-SPARLING