Kalamazoo Specialty Plants (KSP) propagates hundreds of varieties of bedding annuals and perennials, and more than one million herbs under 700,000 square feet of greenhouses. They sell liners to independent garden centres (IGC), and finished plants through their own local retail operation.
Grower reduces labor with Philips LED toplighting
Kalamazoo Specialty Plants
Michigan, USA
there are huge benefits ... LEDs are the future; it’s what we’re all going to be doing in a few years.
Customer challenge
Low light levels December to February means that supplemental lighting is essential at KSP in order for them to fill orders for independent garden centres in southern states.
KSP owner, Rick Ouding jokes, 'During the winter, we measure our sunlight in hours per month, not hours per day.'
As with most growers in North America, KSP does multi-crop propagation, which means that many crops and cultivars are continuously moving from one greenhouse to another.
The right lighting
Ouding spent several years researching numerous LED brands before choosing in 2016 to install a trial of Philips LED toplighting. With the installation of Philips LED toplighting, Ouding concluded that the LEDs helped 'root our crops more quickly and more uniformly'.
Some crop-specific benefits noted by Ouding include more crop uniformity, faster rooting and flowering, and thicker, stronger stem.
Philips GreenPower LED toplighting
Philips GreenPower LED toplighting opens up new opportunities for greenhouse growers to drive young plant propagation of liners as well as leafy greens, lettuces, high-wire food crops and bio crops. Philips LED toplighting is the energy-efficient alternative to HPS.
Less pinching required and faster transplants with Philips LED toplighting
The team
Kalamazoo Specialty Plants
Horticulturalist
Fred C. Gloeckner
Certified Horti Partner
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Creating a recipe for growth for indoor farming
At the Philips GrowWise Center we focus on making indoor farming successful. Founded in 2015 to prove the concept of indoor farming, GrowWise has since grown into a research power house.
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