The Green Club Reputation Management Growers Association has 21 member companies. All the members grow a number of different vegetables in greenhouses. These companies are located all over Greece, and together they have approximately 30 hectares at their disposal (2008). Our motto is “Taste is back!”. Our growers have perfected the growing environment for our tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce. Our crops look and taste perfect, but it’s not because we’ve done anything unnatural to them. Our skilled growers have turned science into art. They give our plants exactly what they need – the perfect climate, the right amount of light, the right amount of nutrition, exact amounts of water and carbon dioxide and the proper ventilation.A greenhouse allows our farmers to control the climate for their plants 24 hours a day, meaning our plants can grow strong, healthy and big. Greenhouses mean we can grow more months of the year and make the most use of land. We produce our healthy food hydroponically. Our farmers grow their plants in Grodan rockwool. Growing in this material means our plants can stretch their roots, and we can feed them water and nutrients directly where they need it – on their roots – rather than on their leaves or on other parts of the soil. Growing hydroponically means we feed our plants only as much nutrients as they need for optimum growth. Our growing methods mean we don’t use herbicides. A plastic sheet, which suppresses weeds from growing up through our crops, covers the soil in our greenhouses. At the end of each growing season, the plastic sheet is removed to allow for a proper cleaning of the greenhouse. This cleaning ensures no pests or plant diseases from the previous crop are carried into the new growing season.To keep pests at bay we use biological controls. We’re leaders in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to protect plants from bad bugs and diseases. Our growers introduce predatory insects – like ladybugs – and mites to eliminate harmful pests. This means our greenhouses use little to no pesticides. All of our growers are certified against Integrated Crop Management processes (GLOBALGAP, AGRO 2-1&2-1) and Food Safety Management Systems (ISO 22000:2005). DKG is a founding member and has been appointed as the Coordinator of The Green Club. For more information please visit us at www.greenclub.gr .
| 
