Our Procedures
Batian's flowers are grown in steel frame greenhouses equipped with the latest drip irrigation and computerized climate control systems. This allows us to give every plant exactly what it needs without wasting water. All of our flowers are grown in natural soil.
We believe in using natural methods of pest and disease control, so we scout our crops on a daily basis for diseases and pests. While we try to avoid chemicals where we can, if necessary we will spot spray following the same guidelines and using only the same products allowed in Europe.
To ensure that our flowers are all at the same cutting stage, we harvest our flowers at least twice a day (sometimes more!). All flowers are directly placed in clean buckets that are filled with water and flower food. From there the flowers are placed in the cold store, where they are kept until they have absorbed enough water to endure their dry transport in the best possible condition.
Once the stems are sufficiently hydrated, they are taken to the pack house for quality control, bunching and packing into boxes. The boxes are then placed back in the cold store until the truck is ready to leave for Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi.
As of September 2008, Batian has begun using a barcode track-and-trace system: Every harvester will put the barcode on their bucket, the grader on the bunches, and the box packer on the box, This will allow us to know the time involved in each step of the process, from greenhouse to the back of the truck and everything in between! And the new system isn’t just for us – it is also for our customers, who can use the system in their own handling procedures.