The Cute Solar project highlights the eco-responsible cultivation in the midst of the European energy crisis

This article underlines the positive facts about the fruit and vegetable grown in solar green houses of Southern Spain.

• The use of solar energy in these green houses is a considerable advantage compared to the ones cultivated via rocketing-prices fossil fuels
• Approximately 35,000 ha of fruit and vegetables are cultivated yearly
• Growers use organic herbicides.

At the end the summer, the solar greenhouses in south-eastern Spain, in the provinces of Almeria and Granada, are preparing for the autumn and winter period. While fruit and vegetable cultivation is slowing down the rest of the continent due to unfavorable weather conditions and low temperatures, the Spanish solar greenhouses continue to supply the European population in the cold season.

Since solar greenhouses do not use fossil fuels, the skyrocketing price of gas and electricity has little impact on horticultural operations in these parts of southeast Spain. As the Cute Solar consortium points out, "most European countries need fossil fuels to simulate growing conditions for fruit and vegetables comparable to those naturally grown in solar greenhouses in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. For many growers in Western and Northern Europe, high fuel prices require either an early harvest (before the mercury falls) or the additional cost of heating during the winter. Still, the favorable climate of Almeria and the Granada coast, where the sun shines for about 3300 hours a year, guarantees generous development of the plantations without depending on external energy sources.

Solar greenhouses, the vegetable garden of Europe

As in previous years, in 2022 fruit and vegetable cultivation in south-eastern Spain will cover some 35 000 hectares. According to the Cute Solar consortium, there has been an increase in the cultivation of tomatoes (+14%), cucumbers (+5%) and peppers (+2%). However, courgettes and auberges are losing ground with - 15% and -10% less surface respectively.
 
Just like last year, in 2022 growers expect to produce around 4.5 million tons of fruit and vegetables, which should supply 60% of the European market in winter. 

Organic growing is increasing

Spanish growers use natural predators (insects) to pollinate and combat pests. The benefits are many: a healthier workplace for workers, a better-preserved environment, better protected plantations. The result is a more balanced development of fruit and vegetables, which are tastier.

The use of these natural predators mainly concerns peppers (99%), cucumbers (80%), aubergines (79%), tomatoes (70%) and to a lesser extent courgettis (25%). 

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