At Karnivores: no plant protection products!

There are two very simple reasons for this. The first is quite simply that we do not want to put ourselves at risk because, however passionate we may be, we do not want to die as a result of our work. The second is that we do not want you or the environment to suffer either.

The horticultural sector, of which we are a part, is finally beginning to address this issue, and ANSESwas consulted on the matter in December 2024.

No chemicals, but a whole arsenal of weapons

Just because we don’t use chemicals doesn’t mean we don’t have a whole range of methods for controlling pests. Our toolkit includes black soap, white vinegar, grapefruit seed extract, rapeseed oil and diatomaceous earth, to name but a few.

Working alongside a specialist consultancy, we also use beneficial insects by releasing them into our greenhouses. These range from seven-spot ladybirds at various stages (stage 3 larvae, adults, etc.) to lacewings, mainly in the form of eggs.

Added to this is the hard work involved, which plays no small part in controlling pests on our crops. This involves strategic repotting on the one hand, but also the relocation of certain plants (within our greenhouses, though some have also been moved outside the greenhouses as and when required as part of our methodology).

What impact does such an approach have on Karnivores?

The impact on Karnivores is, in fact, financial and manifests itself in several ways:

• We invest time and resources in repotting, monitoring, sorting and relocating plants according to the issues at hand, but we also spend more time observing our plants to anticipate future problems.
• We spend more time caring for our plants because the natural ‘treatments’ we use require far more applications to be effective
• We lose more plants and accept this; however, this means we need to increase profitability – and therefore the price of the remaining plants – to compensate

There’s also a psychological impact:

• We don’t dread going to work… Not bad, is it?
• We can proudly continue to say that our plants are of high quality because we believe that the fact that they are healthy is precisely what makes them so
• In our own way, we’re helping to safeguard our biodiversity

Would you like to help us with this?

Just because we believe wholeheartedly in our approach and its merits doesn’t mean we don’t need support. A kind word, some advice if you’ve got valuable experience to share, a post on your social media, a review on Google or Trustpilot, a postcard…

As a small business, the slightest thing can cause us difficulties, but the slightest thing can just as easily make all the difference. Without you, nothing is possible, so please do give us a helping hand!