More than 50 PCA members and guests gathered in Virginia, South Australia on October 18th 2016.

Andrew and Zurri Braham of Braham’s Produce graciously received everyone for lunch and a tour of their capsicum and Lebanese cucumber greenhouse property.

They are very proud of their achievements and happily shared their experience and ideas to the benefit of PCA members and industry.

The Brahams have a total of eight x 2,000 m2 plastic and glasshouses with climate control with automatic irrigation.

Their advice to the PCA workshop attendees was to “keep everything very simple and keep the farm very clean with good controls and growing program.”

“A successful greenhouse grower should be proactive with their plants and fend off hazards before they have even arrived.”

Special guest speakers included Tony Bundock and Alistair McLean of Powerplants Australia. They highlighted strategies for best practice irrigation techniques in hydroponic growing systems.

Tony said that “the members who attended the session all expressed interest in having a copy of the ‘Best Practice Guidelines for Greenhouse Water Management’ developed in partnership between Priva / Grodan and Groen Agro.”

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Dominic Cavallaro of Stoller Australia also educated the group about the importance of keeping the root system healthy.

“Calcium levels need to be just right to give the roots a better chance to grow. Overall one must maintain good plant balance in all respects such as nutrient availability, according to both environmental conditions and the stage of crop.”

Domonic added “With a good fertiliser program you’ll get the best returns!”

Victor Barbosa of EE Muir explained the benefits of the Cultilene substrate system design and applications tailored for any climate.

Folco Faber encouraged everyone to come to the Apex-Brinkman PCA conference next year, and also showed participants a new greenhouse gutter.

Gutters can run the entire length of the greenhouse collecting the run-off from pots, bags or wrapped slabs of coconut fibre, wood shavings, sand, gravel and/or rockwool.

Run-off can be measured, recorded and recycled back to the main tank for maximum efficiency.

Peter March of Syngenta Seeds was popular not only because he brought refreshments but he also updated everyone on the latest varietal virus resistance in capsicums and the importance of good hygiene to protect your crop.

Other valued presenters included Seminis Seeds, CRT, Elders and AIS Greenworks and AutoGrow NZ.

The three PCA hosts Nam Ly, Folco Faber and Saskia Blanch all contributed to a very informative, enjoyable day.

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