Almost 100 years on, family-run company from Delfgauw
Freek van der Velden and Martin van der Velden are owners of a wonderful company specialising in the year-round cultivation of pot gerberas. From cutting to mature plant, father and son keep a close eye on the process. In the spring, Freek and Martin add outdoor gerberas to their assortment, namely Sundayz and Garvinea. In the winter period, the assortment is supplemented with Helleborus and Poinsettias.
This is a versatile grower, who guarantees the best quality. It all starts with the cuttings, which are potted by hand. Then the plants are spaced more widely after 3 weeks, and sorted by camera for the first time after 6 weeks. Once the plants are ready for delivery, they pass by the camera one last time and are sorted into 40 different categories. Subsequently, they are packed at one of the packing stations according to the customers’ wishes. Freek, Martin and their team supply their best plants every day with the compliments of Decorum.
We want to burden the environment as little as possible
Martin explained, “Aside from the cultivation of quality, the environment is becoming more and more part of our company. We want to burden the environment as little as possible, reuse water, separate waste and generate our own energy. For crop protection, we look to biological methods, and the last important development is that we are no longer using any agents that harm bees.
Even with packaging there are all sorts of new ways to spare the environment. Cultivation pots are made of residual waste from plastic factories. We use cardboard or biodegradable trays and covers. And if possible, we replace sleeves for our plants with a cardboard edging to protect them. If it’s up to us, many more innovations will be implemented.”
Background
- In the 1920s Gerard van der Velden started a nursery growing different sorts of vegetables at the Zwaenekwampen in Delfgauw.
- His son Arie van der Velden began his own vegetable nursery with his brothers in the 1940s at the Overgauwseweg in Pijnacker and at the Zuideinde in Delfgauw, partly under flat glass and partly in greenhouses.
- In 1963 Arie van der Velden moved with his family to Den Hoorn and founded his own nursery there. He cultivated various vegetables in what were modern greenhouses for that time, such as cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
- In 1972 his youngest son Freek joined him.
- In 1974 Arie van der Velden decided to switch from growing vegetables to floriculture. He chose roses. Freek became a co-owner of the nursery 3 years later, until in the mid-1980s he began working for himself.
- In 1995 Freek switched from roses to pot gerberas, and in 2003 constructed a hypermodern nursery in Delfgauw at the Schimmelpenninck van de Oyeweg.
- Over the years, the nursery has expanded by buying up adjoining plots of land along the Schimmelpenninck van Oyeweg in Delfgauw.
- On 1 January 2017, his youngest son Martin became a co-owner.
Transport
We have 4 cars of our own, a trailer, two box trucks and a delivery van. With them, we drive almost unceasingly to the auctions in Aalsmeer and Naaldwijk, as well as to various individual addresses. The first delivery leaves at 10 am, the last one usually late in the evening. Our delivery van is often used to drive to customers, fully loaded with a range of samples.
What customers say about us
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