Crop Drying Case Study - Second Willow Nursery

Second Willow Nursery knew that its choice of fuel supplier and heating equipment was paramount for the successful growth of its delicate lettuce seedlings and turned to Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG) to answer its growing needs.

Located six miles north of Ely the nursery, which incorporates a six acre greenhouse, is owned by G’s Growers Ltd with the land managed by Will Forbes since 2003. The Nursery’s area of expertise is in cultivating various types of lettuces which are distributed to leading supermarket chains by family run company G’s Marketing Group.

“We supply our lettuces to a number of popular high street supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer who all have extremely high standards” said Will. “It was vitally important that we installed the most reliable fuel supplier and efficient heating equipment to enhance and maintain the growth and quality of our produce.”

Crucial to the new drying and heating process is a cleaner burning, controllable and reliable fuel source, supported by expert technical guidance - and, says owner David Bond, that means Calor LPG. “I decided that LPG was a far better bet than oil if I was to maintain accurate temperature control. It was almost an automatic choice - I'd used LPG for ten years in our old drying shed.”

The bulbs, which produce blooms from perfect miniatures to magnificent double headed daffodils, are now sold across the UK, the US and Europe. Their quality is so high that the family even exports its bulbs to The Netherlands, centre of the world flower trade.

The Calor LPG heated greenhouse provides crucial frost protection for the delicate transplants. “Previously, our lettuce seedlings were purchased from Crystal Heart Salad; they were then transplanted, when stronger, into our fields. However, due to the fragile nature of the transplants the journey from seedlings to soil can have quite a traumatic effect on the growth of the young transplants. It therefore seemed a logical solution to install our own frost protection greenhouse for the benefit of the crop and for the continual success of our business.”

“We supply our lettuces to a number of popular high street supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer who all have extremely high standards”

Calor find the best solution to meet business needs

Calor worked closely with Second Willow Nursery to find the best solution to meet G’s Growers’ business needs. Being one of the largest greenhouse structures in the area covering a six acre site, a project survey was carried out by Calor to carefully assess fuel usage requirements and site location ensuring sufficient power was generated to protect the delicate seedlings. The heating equipment was supplied by Priva who installed twenty-two of its more energy efficient 75kW Priva ECO direct-fired heaters. Together, they contribute to a capacity of 9.4 million lettuces.

“I was particurlary keen to work with Calor LPG as G’s has
always been more than satisfied with its professional service”

Will added: “The Calor fuelled LPG heaters provide the right atmosphere to nurture the delicate seedlings and can even enhance the transplants’ growth and strength due to the CO2 that is produced as a by product.

“By installing and fuelling our greenhouse with the cleaner burning fuel it not only provides consistently high quality produce and is more environmentally friendly, but our haulage costs have also been reduced. This in turn has had a direct impact on reducing food miles. All of these factors are becoming increasingly important for the ethically minded consumers and retailers alike.”

“By installing and fuelling our greenhouse with the cleaner burning fuel it not only provides consistently high quality produce and is more environmentally friendly, but our haulage costs have been reduced”