Shipshape greenhouses a win for the Reef

Jason Smith’s approach to running his greenhouses is nothing short of meticulous. Maybe it’s because he served in the Navy for nine years? Maybe it’s because he just really loves his plants? Either way, the Carter & Spencer greenhouses he’s in charge of turn out some beautiful eggplants.

The 1.2-hectare site is based in tranquil Moore Park Beach, 15 minutes outside of Bundaberg’s CBD.

Jason’s transition from fitter and machinist in the Navy to greenhouse manager was a happy coincidence.

Having moved to Bundaberg and looking for work, Jason found a job at a greenhouse where the grower manager noticed he ‘had an eye for plants.’

He asked Jason if he wanted to become a grower, and the rest as they say is history.

Now he manages the only greenhouse facility in Queensland to be Hort360 Reef Certified.

Growcom—the project delivery arm of the Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG)—delivers the Hort360 Great Barrier Reef (Hort360 GBR) program.

Using Hort360, horticulture growers can measure their approach to farm management against industry best practice and use this information to refine on-farm practices where needed.

Hort360 GBR Facilitator Michelle Haase congratulated the Carter & Spencer Group on their Reef Certification achievement.

“Carter & Spencer Group manage their farms to a very high standard and are proactive in adopting practices that ensure minimal losses of nutrient, pesticide, run-off, and sediment,” she said.

“Becoming the first greenhouse to achieve Reef Certification is testament to their ongoing commitment.

“This sets a wonderful example for other protected cropping operations looking to ensure they are maintaining environmental best practice.”

Pursuing Hort360 Reef Certification was an opportunity for Jason and his team to build on existing infrastructure. Ongoing engagement with Hort360 provides his team with a framework to guide future expansion on the site.

Running greenhouses with a crop cultivated in grow bags of coconut peat means soil management isn’t part of Jason’s operations, but there are plenty of measures his team takes around managing run-off and chemical use to protect the environment around their facility.

This is vital considering the greenhouses are only 600 metres as the crow flies from the southern Great Barrier Reef marine park.

“Of a morning if the whole place is quiet and it’s not windy, you can actually hear the surf crash from greenhouse three,” Jason said.

“Moore Park Creek is also just up the road.”

To preserve the sanctuary around them, run-off from the greenhouses goes into holding tanks that are then sprayed onto grass surrounding the greenhouses through sprinklers. Sedimentation beds around the site filter this water.

“So, we’re not actually putting anything back (into the waterways) and it’s going into the grass. It’s a very slow filter through the sand,” Jason said.

Looking to the future, maintaining Reef Certification while expanding operations is a priority for Jason.

“We have room for expansion, and whatever we do in terms of drainage, water storage, and chemical use will look to improve on standards we’ve already set with the Reef program,” he said.

Hort360 GBR is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.