Sustainability
Natuurlijk. grow.

Natural enemies play an important role in controlling harmful insects on our nursery. They are an essential link in our ambition to grow completely insecticide-free crops in the future. We are convinced that nature around the nursery provides the best basis for this.

That’s why in recent years we have created more and more flower and herb strips around the farm. These strips encourage biodiversity and provide a habitat for natural enemies that contribute to a healthy balance on the nursery. In addition to flowers and herbs, we also add shrubs and trees to support biodiversity throughout the year. This creates a functional, natural environment that not only contributes to cultivation, but also provides a green and well-kept perimeter of the farm.

A modern nursery with concrete paths and efficiently designed fields is not naturally an attractive habitat for insects. With the use of banker plants, we are deliberately changing that. Between our plants and along the wind fences, we place banker plants to attract and retain beneficial insects.

These plants provide food, shelter and breeding opportunities for insects that play an important role in natural pest control. Many of these beneficial insects are natural enemies of pests such as aphids and thrips, which we would rather not see in our plants.

We are constantly learning which banker plants are most effective and which combinations work best. By continuing to test and adjust, we are building step by step a cultivation system with a stronger natural balance

Energy has been generated on the farm with wind power since 1996. In 2013, solar energy was added. We now generate more energy than we use ourselves. This is a successful and independent part of the business, which also yields economic returns.

There is only minimal heating at the nursery. Cultivation consists largely of outdoor cultivation and a cold greenhouse, with the sun doing the work. Our plants are therefore grown low on energy, in keeping with our vision of sustainable and future-oriented cultivation.

All of our plants are grown in pots and require regular watering. This is done via irrigation with sprinklers or with drippers per plant. In part of the nursery we also use smart cultivation fields, where plants are watered from below.

Using sensors, we measure the water needs of the plants and water only at the right time. This saves water and energy and also helps prevent an unfavorable climate for fungi. Our nursery is 97% recirculating: all the water that falls next to the plant is collected and reused in our water basins. This way we avoid wasting water and nutrients. The basins are filled in the winter so that we have enough water even in dry summers.

Since 2025, Natuurlijk Hopmans has been growing part of its assortment organically, under SKAL certification. No chemical crop protection or fertilizer is used with these plants. We started this because we believe that organic cultivation is possible for part of our assortment without sacrificing quality. It is not always an easy path, but we are convinced that in the coming years we will be able to offer more and more products organically.

Currently, our organic assortment includes several perennials and potted organic bulbs. One of the buyers of these products is Intratuin, which sells our organic plants in the Netherlands.

For us, certifications are not an end in themselves, but a means to show what we do. Our plants and business processes are certified according to GlobalGAP (IDA) and Grasp, and our organic products meet SKAL standards.

For us, certification goes beyond growing plants; it also affects the way the Hopmans team works together. We do sustainability because we support it ourselves, not to meet a standard. Driven people at the nursery make the difference, not the paperwork afterwards.