December 27, 2024
We have once again left behind the delightful days of Christmas.
Although it is always a busy time of year for us, we thoroughly enjoy the warmth and togetherness that these days bring.

Now is a perfect moment to look back at the start of the season.
When we began harvesting the first plants, we weren’t particularly pleased.
These were “Ice Cascade” plants, which, from the moment they came out of the meristem tray, clearly struggled to grow as we were used to. Even with extra nutrients and lighting, these plants wouldn’t get off to a good start.

We faced a choice: when potting, should we discard these plants and leave part of the greenhouse empty, or should we try to make the best of it?
We chose the latter. It remained a challenging batch, but eventually, they did bloom, and we were able to sell them. However, the plants were smaller than we had hoped, and their branches grew very unevenly. As a result, we had to sell many plants with only one or two branches, as the other branches were still far too small.

By December 1, we had worked through this weaker batch of Ice Cascade, and fortunately, from that point on, we were able to supply the high-quality Ice Cascade we aim for.

Thankfully, we didn’t experience these issues with other varieties like Argiro, Harwin, Anisa, and Novia, and we had beautiful plants from these batches.

This experience once again reminded us of an important truth: when the starting material isn’t good, it becomes very difficult to grow a truly excellent plant.

During this Christmas season, it strikes me that plants and people aren’t so different in this respect. For people, too, your childhood is incredibly important, as it largely determines who you become as a person.

When I see all the wars happening in the world today, I worry about the youth who are experiencing this. Will they be able to grow into stable and healthy adults?

I think you already know what my wish for the new year will be:
Peace on Earth for everyone.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2025.