After an extremely late start to the harvest, yields are increasing – cultivation remains a balancing act.
For quite some time, the asparagus fields with mini tunnels have been delivering stable harvest quantities of excellent quality. However, for the companies that decided against cultivation in mini tunnels this year, it is a long dry spell until the end. Because of the cold nights of the past weeks, yields from the fields without tunnels have failed to materialize thus far. In addition, because of the windy weather, the yields have not been able to increase under black foil either, says the consultant of the chamber of agriculture of Lower Saxony.
However, the high temperatures of the past days now bring the time of limited asparagus supply to an end – just in time for the upcoming holidays, the weather god had a revelation. Contrary to the season of 2014, which started extremely early, this year the harvest begins extremely late.
With all the technological possibilities which cultivation offers by now, sure instincts and experience still play a large role in successful asparagus cultivation. According to the chamber's consultants, next year, part of the companies which decided against cultivation with mini tunnels this year will reconsider their plastic strategy. In the past two years, which were very different, the tunnels have proven themselves, and in doing so contributed to securing the harvest quantities at the start of the season.
Also, for the remainder of the asparagus season, plastic management remains a challenge for the asparagus growers. Despite all technology, the natural product will not be dominated. Because soon all mini tunnels may have disappeared from the fields, it will not be quite as hectic as during early cultivation. If the weather allows, henceforth enough asparaguses of good quality will be available until the end of the season. For the growers who manage the temperature with foil, it remains a balancing act to maintain a consistent yield with good stem quality.
