Making a change

Chad Earles says the team at Nash Greenhouse was always on the edge.

“We always felt like we were on the edge of killing things at times,” he says.

The plants were often too dry, so they wanted to be more moist in their growing.

About four years ago, the Kalamazoo, Mich., greenhouse switched to parboiled rice hulls (PBH) from perlite.

“Initially it was cost,” says Earles, the head grower. “We saved money. That was the biggest reason in the beginning.”

But they’ve also been able to keep the plants moist longer and reduce watering costs.

“The plants don’t suffer,” Earles says. “The plants actually overall are better, and that’s a tough word to use because perlite has always been an industry standard, and it works very well, but for our facility and the way we’re growing now, it allows our growers more time in the greenhouse to actually check on the plants without having to jump on the hose in the morning.”

He’s also noticed less dust, which creates a healthier work environment for the employees.

“The perlite always threw a lot of dust out there,” he says. “The people on the line that are doing the planting, it seems safer there now. You don’t get the perlite dust that really isn’t good for you to be breathing in.”

He says some of the concerns about rice hulls in the past have been mice and birds trying to get into the houses, but he says the past two seasons the product has improved and that hasn’t been an issue they’ve experienced. Another speculation has been that it binds up nutrients in the soil and ties up your nitrogens, but Earles says he hasn’t experienced that either.

“We actually in the past reduced the amount of feed we need to use inside the soil itself,” he says. “We reduced our growth regulators. I think overall, it’s a win-win when you’re able to use less fertilizers, you’re able to use less growth retardant. … That was a big benefit for us.”

Want to know more?
For more: Nash Greenhouse, www.nashgreenhouse.com