In the summer of 2018, Rijk Zwaan representative, Max Saad, introduced Rijk Zwaan’s new summer variety Bluesbrother RZ to Abe Friesen, owner and grower of Hope Lane Farms. The resulting 2-acre test gave more cucumbers overall and an overall higher percentage of medium/large compared to medium/small.
Friesen values yield and size in his crops. He also believes high fruit quality is equally important to maintain his 10-year relationship with his marketing partner. To ensure the best results, Friesen’s crop shows what Bluesbrother RZ likes – early buildup of a good plant factory and sufficient stem fruit pruning. He believes with these two factors, you will be rewarded with plentiful laterals producing a stable fruit length that requires less labor to keep them open. Bluesbrother RZ generally makes a smaller leaf and the fruits have straight, strong ribbing- setting it apart from other varieties.
This year, all of Hope Lane Farm’s summer plantings have been with Bluesbrother RZ and with 2 ½ weeks left in this crop cycle, Friesen has already matched last year’s production. “I didn’t have to change my growing strategy when I switched from Verdon RZ to Bluesbrother RZ. I just look to the crop and see if I need to make adjustments in the temperatures”, says Friesen. With a darker year, Friesen says he has “gone a bit lower with the temperatures, but still [I] haven’t gone under 18°C at night.”
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