Most of the initial capital costs of establishing a greenhouse production facility are incurred in the design and construction of the greenhouse. Once these capital costs have been sunk, it is possible to repurpose the greenhouse for new types of production that would previously have represented too much of a financial risk. With that in mind, the three polyculture designs presented in this report have been designed for year-round production in an existing greenhouse without supplemental heating or lighting. THREE POLYCULTURE DESIGNS These three polyculture designs give an indication of what is possible and what is needed to successfully shift to polyculture production. Two of the designs are for perennial cropping systems (one for greenhouse fruit tree production, and one for greenhouse berry production). The final design makes use of year-round annual plant production in both summer and winter conditions. It maximizes yield through high density plantings and a system of succession and relay cropping. All of these designs focus on soil-based production for strategic reasons. Firstly, perennial crops cannot be cultivated hydroponically. Secondly, within the EU, in order to be classified as “biological,’ produce must be cultivated in soil. Because products cultivated in a polyculture can have a much better ecological profile than those cultivated otherwise, these products may also be ideally suited for eco-labeling, which presents an added reason to maintain soil-based production. The three designs here are a starting point for testing and experimentation, both in terms of new products as well as new market approaches. Many variations on these designs are possible, and they can be further optimized for profitability and operational feasibility. From this starting point, more products can eventually be added, including livestock production, and hydroponic production can potentially be layered with soil-based cultivation. MARKET FOCUS Based on calculations of profitability, the strategy we recommend for transitioning to a polyculture production approach is a phased adoption process. Growers who currently produce a common commodity product such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or zucchinis can scale down their existing production of these products and devote some of their greenhouse space to a more diverse set of products for local sale. Through this process, they can transition to building up a local market and retail sales channels, while also getting the additional benefit of selling some of their own standard produce at higher retail prices through these new channels. Such a local market development strategy can also be developed collectively by a group of growers to share the costs of marketing. A prerequisite for the success of marketing products for local sale is to have a minimum diversity of products on offer. Without this, local sales approaches like a greenhouse shop or “vegetable packages” are not feasible. Successfully getting products to market remains the greatest challenge of this shift in paradigm. MOVING FORWARD The remaining challenge is for growers to begin adopting polyculture production. There is a world of opportunity in these new approaches to horticulture, which can bring connection with local clientele, greater economic stability, and a systemic change towards a more sustainable and regenerative agriculture. Pagina 6
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