Customer case

OK Plant grows strong, compact plants with DCM

About this client

Name

OK Plant

Sector

Substrates

Location

Naaldwijk & Maasdijk

OK Plant is a pot plant company based in the Westland region of South Holland. With a team of 170 employees, OK Plant produces more than 5,700,000 high-quality orchids, 1,200,000 green plants and 1,300,000 different seasonal products each year at its sites in Naaldwijk and Maasdijk, including products under its own brands Little Kolibri Orchids and Little Lizard Greens.

Richard Driessen, cultivation specialist at OK Plant, has specialised in Phalaenopsis cultivation for the past 15 years and has been working with DCM organic fertilisers for many years.

“We see organic base fertilisation with DCM as the foundation for a good start. The controlled release ensures that the plants have sufficient nutrients available during the first few weeks, which is essential for plant health.”

“In our initial trials with DCM fertilisers, where the nutrients do not leach out immediately, we saw very good results. The plants get off to a better start and are more compact and greener! Over the years, it has become clear that a dosage of 2 to 3 kg of DCM per m³ of bark gives the best results. In trials without organic base fertilisation, the plants clearly show signs of nutrient deficiency. These batches always stand out in a negative way.”

Growing strong, compact and resilient plants

Richard is currently investigating whether the principle of organic base fertilisation can provide the same benefits in young plant production as it does later in the cultivation cycle, after potting. “The transition from tissue culture to substrate is a very delicate stage. From a physiological point of view, this transition is a real shock to the plant. We want to support the plant as effectively as possible during this adaptation phase, not by pampering it, but by hardening it off to help prevent crop health problems later on. It is therefore essential that sufficient nutrients, and the right nutrients, are always available for the formation of new cells. By improving nutrient availability at the beginning of the cultivation cycle, we may be able to reduce plant losses, for example those caused by Fusarium. DCM can play an important role in this development: growing strong, compact and resilient plants.”

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