agriculture

Hothouse seeds yield profits

LA PRENSA

green thumb: A Cerro Punto greenhouse accelerates the growth process of delicate vegetables by incubating seedlings.1098016

Edgardo Miranda lives in Las Filipinas, in the fertile region of Cerro Punta, Chiriquí, where next to his residence is the greenhouse where he cultivates delicate vegetables such as romaine lettuce and cabbage until they reach seedling phase.

Since this technique accelerates plant growth, local farmers experience a quicker harvest which in turn means a shorter wait for the arrival of profits.

Within 48 hours of being planted in individual fertilized cubicles in Miranda’s greenhouse, the seed germinates. And after 10 days, the seedling will be ready for planting. At then end of a month’s time, that produce is ready for cutting.

Though the greenhouse incubation process is not a new idea, growers in the region have largely stuck to the traditional method of cultivation, which often means sowing an outdoor seedbed and then transplanting the seedlings, a process that can takes considerably longer.

Miranda’s hothouse, one of the few in the area, can accommodate upward of 250,000 seedlings, but is currently only at 50 percent capacity. A thousand of those seedlings are bundled and sold for about $8.

“The advantage of this system is that you can quickly grow vegetables and take advantage of the market where products have good price," said Eduardo South, who has over 20 years experience farming in Cerro Punta. However, when several farmers in the area sow the same vegetables at the same time, prices drop off drastically, he added.