The Rural Voice, 1993-01, Page 26Heat and hydro are the two largest
operating costs. The greenhouse is
kept at 14 degrees celsius (roses, by
contrast, must be kept at 27 degrees)
with an oil -fired hot-water system.
Supplemental lighting helps lengthen
the growing day. They experimented
with 24 hour a day lighting but
couldn't tell if the production was
any better so now the lights are shut
off at midnight. While the electricity
bills are high, Shirley says, lots of
wearier pig farmers have bills that are
similar.
The majority of flower growers
are in the milder Niagara
peninsula but the Boumans
don't think the Huron county weather
puts them at a disadvantage.
Production in their greenhouse seems
to be about the same as that in his
brother's operation, Luke says. The
temperature is colder but the
snowbelt snow cover actually helps
insulate the greenhouse. The cooler
temperature (two to three
degrees celsius) in the
summer actually helps
production. Alstroemerias
don't like heat and in the
summer production drops
off and doesn't recover
until the fall's cooler
weather brings their
strength back. The Boumans may be
among a handful of Ontario farmers
who found 1992 a good year because
the cool, cloudy summer didn't set
the plants back so far and production
was stronger in the fall.
Despite heat and supplemental
light, the plants aren't totally fooled,
Shirley says. As the days shorten,
production drops off. The intensity of
light, as well as the hours of day
mauer. December's light "isn't worth
a hoot", Luke says.
"As soon as the days get longer
after December 21 we notice
production start to increase," Shirley
says. "After June 21, production goes
down."
By March the supplemental
lighting is shut off. Those later winter
and spring days are the peak of
production. The Boumans hire a part-
time helper beginning in January or
February and continuing until
the fall. The operation takes
40-50 hours of labour a week.
The flowers must be picked
and graded, each picking and
grading taking 8-9 hours.
Then there's time needed for
repairing lights, spraying to
deal with pests, and weeding.
Aphids, white fly, thrips,
spider mites and slugs are among the
pests to be dealt with. Thrips have
given the couple their
biggest problem in their
years of operation. They
knew they had a problem
but didn't know what was
causing it at first.
That lack of information is
the greatest challenge for
growers of Alstroemerias,
Luke says. The majority of
management literature comes from
Europe but conditions are totally
different here. OMAF has done some
research into diseases at its Vineland
research station but there isn't a large
body of information available. While
there is no reason livestock
producers can't reach maximum
production because of the assistance
that's readily available, growers of
Alstroemerias must learn by trial and
error. Fertilizing, for instance, is a
challenge. "Nobody seems to know
what they (the plants) really need
and when you should be doing what,"
Luke says. The Boumans even ran
into a problem with watering,
discovering the leaves on their plants
were yellowing and eventually
finding out that the plants were
suffering because the soil was too
moist.
Outside it may be
cold and stormy
but inside the
greenhouse
operation of
Shirley and Luke
Bowman the
summer lingers
on in the bright
colours of their
indoor garden.
Because it's a
competitive, limited
market, there isn't even
much co-operation
between growers. When
the Boumans were
making their last
expansion, for instance,
they were looking for
1500 new plants but no
one was willing to share information
on which new varieties were best to
plant. They ended up pulling about
half their new plants out because they
didn't like the flowers they got from
them. Since it takes about six months
to grow a plant to the harvest stage, it
meant a loss of time and money.
The couple have tried other crops
like freesia and snapdragons but they
like Alstroemerias. For one thing, the
tall plants (they grow six to eight feet
tall) mean there isn't stooping and
bending. Besides, Shirley says, she
likes the flowers. "There's been a
bouquet on this table for six years
and I never get sick of looking at
them," she says across the table in the
kitchen of their farm home.
The recession has caused
problems in the marketing of their
flowers. Luke estimates there are
30 to 40 flower wholesalers in
southern Ontario and in the last
six months four of the largest
have gone under and another is in
financial difficulty. The couple
lost their own original wholesaler
because of financial problems a
year ago and this summer were
taking their flowers to
Mississauga to the Ontario
Flower Growers auction.
Operated like the Dutch clock
system in Aalsmeer, Holland, the
auction uses a clock that reduces
the price until a bid is made and
the flowers are sold at that price.
After worrying about being paid
22 THE RURAL VOICE