The new season is now beginning with the harvest of the first peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and radishes in the greenhouses and polytunnels of LGV. This year, the harvest has started a little late because the vegetables have received too little sunlight, especially in recent months. Energy costs are among the biggest challenges for vegetable producers, reports LGV grower Johann Thell, who cultivates peppers on around 12 hectares in Pamhagen, Burgenland. He harvests a total of around six million peppers from March to October, he tells ORF.
To save costs, he had a so-called "energy screen" installed in his pepper greenhouse. This is a light-colored fabric that is mounted on the ceiling and opened or closed by a computer. "When the sun is shining, we can get energy from outside, so the cloth is opened. At night or when it is cloudy, the cloth is closed to save energy," says Thell.
For more information:
https://lgv.at/gartner/thell-johann/