My name is Dominik and I have been closely connected to agriculture since my youth, which inspired me to study agronomy at ETH Zurich. I enjoy putting the knowledge I have learned into practice in order to achieve the goal of natural but productive agriculture.
With this goal in mind, in recent years I have specialized in “exotic” vegetables, especially melons. Normally, heat-loving vegetables are only produced in Switzerland with great use of resources or imported from abroad. I would like to be able to offer environmentally conscious people a unique alternative to the current market situation.
Production method
The biggest difference in my production method compared to conventional practices is definitely the complete avoidance of spraying agents. This is possible because production in a high tunnel allows climatic factors to be better controlled. The following points are also central approaches that I pursue:
- Seasonal production
- no energy consumption for heating systems
- Watering through drip irrigation
- Plants optimally nourished through liquid fertilizer applications
- Use of trap plants
- Pursuing mixed culture approaches
Drip irrigation is an important key element in the resource-saving and therefore more environmentally friendly production of food. According to various scientific surveys, up to 50% water can be saved, not least because the watering water is used more efficiently due to its exact placement on the root ball. Furthermore, many fungal diseases are prevented from developing because there are no wet leaf surfaces.
By not using sprays, it crawls like crazy between and on the plants 🐜🦗🐞🐝! The aim is to achieve a balance between pests and beneficial insects. How this can be controlled with very simple measures will be shown in the next articles.
By sowing various flowers, additional pollinators can be attracted. This is not only beautiful to look at and transforms the polytunnel into a true paradise, it is a central point for optimal fruit setting of the melons. A great example of how biodiversity can be brought into harmony with productive agriculture.
Producing without pesticides doesn’t just mean that beneficial insects establish themselves. Other insects, commonly known as agricultural pests, will also visit the plants. On the right of the picture you can see a melon blossom that is literally being taken over by rape blossom beetles. I have found that by planting the melons late, the pest pressure from rape blossom beetles can be avoided almost entirely.
However, there are measures that do not involve any environmental risks and combat pests efficiently. Wind and weather are known to be the friend of fungal diseases but the enemy of leaf-eating insects. For example, showering the plants washes away most of the aphid infestation. If this is already advanced, the affected leaves can also be sprayed with a 2% solution of potassium soap. 🫧💧
Most insects breathe through so-called tracheae, a system of tubes whose openings lie in the surface of the body and enable gas exchange. If you spray the insects with soft soap, a “soap bubble film” forms over these openings, preventing gas exchange.
As mentioned, I also rely on the use of so-called “trap plants”. These represent an attractive food source for pests. In the hope that if pests invade, they will be attacked preferentially and not the crops that have been planted. Aphids are a challenge in very dry and hot years. Artichokes have proven to be wonderful trap plants for aphids, and they also seem to easily cope with an infestation.🪷🪷🪷
As mentioned, mixed culture strategies are also used, so everything grows all over the place, which is not only beautiful to look at, but also brings micro-climatic advantages.
Plants can be shaded specifically, wind barriers can be created and much more.
Who will find him first? Grasshoppers can be found everywhere in my high tunnel 🦗🦗🦗. A good indicator that the ecosystem is intact. Grasshoppers can only be observed where there is an abundant food supply of larvae, eggs, smaller insects and also a diverse vegetation structure of different plants.