Family Ceulemans

Bart is a grower through and through. In 2005, at just 24 years old, he took over a 2.3-hectare tomato nursery. Later, he also took over his father’s business, adding another 1.5 hectares. From 2005 to 2015, Bart grew tomatoes. In 2015, he decided to switch to peppers.

Today, his ultra-modern greenhouses are home to 17 different pepper varieties, with Sweet Palermo and Sweet Bite as the main crops. “Sweet peppers are still quite new here and weren’t very well known, but they’ve become much more popular,” Bart explains. “A lot of people really enjoy these extra sweet peppers. They also have much thinner skins, making them easier to digest than regular peppers.”

It takes around eight weeks for the flowers to grow into fully ripe peppers. Caring for the plants is all done by hand. Every day, Bart and his team carefully hand-pick the ripe peppers. They’re placed gently into large crates to avoid any damage. After that, they’re sorted by quality, size and weight before being delivered to BelOrta.

Peppers are grown in Belgium for almost the entire year. At Grobar, Bart’s farm, harvesting happens every 10 days from April to December. In peak season, around 20 workers are busy picking peppers.

Bart also does everything he can to keep nature in balance. They tackle harmful insects by introducing their natural predators, creating a welcoming environment for mites, ladybirds and wagtails. This keeps the pepper plants healthy in a natural way. And because no pesticides are used, you only need to rinse off a bit of dust or dirt in the kitchen.

Photos © Karl Bruninx for Spar Colruyt Group