Diary (20th July 2024)
Yesterday, I worked on the tulip bulbs. Harvesting, weed and soil removal and sizing the bulbs. The harvesting is being done by John and three interns. It is done using two tractors. One tractor digs up the soil surface, harvests the bulbs and returns the soil back to the land. Behind this tractor, there is a place where people can stand on either side, from where they can remove the soil and weeds that this machine could not remove. The bulbs are harvested through an escalator-like arm into a box behind another tractor that runs alongside.
This tractor, which digs up bulbs buried about four times as deep as they are high, is said to cost around EUR 180,000. If rented, with a driver, it is apparently about EUR 200 an hour. Intern Heloisa drives the truck alongside and John drives the tractor that digs up the bulbs. ‘It’s difficult because it has a box on the back and you have to turn the steering wheel the opposite way to driving a normal car.’ I would also like to try driving, but I am not at all sure if I have the right qualities. I did some soil and weed picking behind the tractor. So much dirt and dust.
These harvested bulbs are sprinkled on a machine to remove the excess soil. The soil and weeds are removed by a huge elevator-type machine, and this process is probably repeated several times, followed by the sizing of the bulbs.
