First time was a charm

Joe Jancsurak, Editor 

The first-ever Cultivate’14 veggie production tour was a popular addition to the AmericanHort event formerly known as OFA Short Course, and one that I hope becomes a permanent fixture in years to come.

Granted, my role as one of two tour guides (Charles Behnke, OSU extension educator, was the other) means I have a certain bias, but the information shared by our hosts at R.O. Apelt Sons in Cleveland and CropKing in Lodi, Ohio, was certainly profound as growers look for ways to extend their business.

Frank Beckoff, owner of R.O. Apelt Sons, and Alan Apelt, former owner and consultant, took us through 3.5 acres under glass of hydroponically grown seedless cucumbers. The operation combines the newest technologies in computer controlled heating, ventilation, and irrigation with daily harvesting by hand with same-day, on-site packaging and delivery to a local produce wholesaler. A greenhouse vegetable grower since 1948, R.O. Apelt Sons has been growing English cucumbers since 1983. Beckoff also discussed the effective use of biologicals as well as the rows and rows of yellow sticky tape.

At CropKing, General Manager Marilyn Brentlinger, President Paul Brentlinger, and research horticulturists Natalie Bumgarner and Max Brentlinger discussed with the tour groups what this family-owned and operated greenhouse manufacturer is capable of providing growers. CropKing, in operation since 1982, specializes in controlled-environment hydroponic vegetable production systems and fabricates a majority of the components at the Lodi location, which includes a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse and a greenhouse with an amazing array of hydroponically grower leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants.

In addition to the greenhouses and hydroponic systems it offers, CropKing provides grower teaching and training workshops, customized nutrient formulation, consultation on greenhouse installation and crop management, and training videos.

More information on R.O. Apelt Sons and CropKing will appear in future issues of Produce Grower. For now, suffice it to say that this year’s veggie production tour could be the start of a beautiful thing.

Joe Jancsurak, Editor | jjancsurak@gie.net
(216) 236-5960 | Twitter: @GreenhouseMag