Third Mini-Air soft fruit cover for Depestel Strawberries
Growing strawberries in the greenhouse, on tabletops and under Mini-Air soft fruit covers, Steven and Iwona Depestel are in production from April until early December. In 2025 they put their third Mini-Air into use.
Since Steven joined his parents’ business in Damme, Belgium, in 2014, he has expanded the area under cover in phases. “We were already selling from the farm and I saw potential in extending the sales season. Step by step we grew to 2 hectares of greenhouse, 5 hectares of tabletops and 4 hectares of Mini-Air. About a quarter is sold at the farm, the rest goes through a wholesaler.”
Looking for a strawberry cover as a step between the greenhouse and tabletops with rain covers, Steven helped develop the Mini-Air in 2016. In 2025 he put his third one into use: a 2.5 hectare Mini-Air Pro with GM-04L growing gutters and a Supertif drip irrigation system.
Developed together
The farm has the complete Mini-Air range: the Light version with rain covers, the Regular with manually operated film arches and the Pro with film arches that open and close automatically. The Mini-Air has not only proven itself for Steven. He even played a part in developing the system.
“With tabletops and walk-in tunnel systems I saw some drawbacks. The plants can still partly get wet from rain, and automation can only be done row by row. Then, at a fellow grower’s, we came across Meteor Systems’ film covers with rainwater gutters on a wooden substructure. We worked together to develop an all-steel version, and that is how the Mini-Air came about in 2016.”
Very strong construction
Ten years and several expansions later, Steven has extensive experience growing under the Mini-Air. “The structure is extremely strong. Here, close to the Belgian coast, we can get severe storms, and that is no problem for the Mini-Air. It is easy to build and growing in it works perfectly. Fully closed, the Regular and Pro are almost like a greenhouse, while in summer you have a huge ventilation capacity. With everything open, the plants even stay cooler than outside.”
According to Steven, these properties are a perfect fit for everbearers, which the business is scaling up. “Compared with two plantings of Elsanta, you save considerably on plant costs, and everbearing varieties also cope better with summer heat. We start planting in the Mini-Air in February and keep picking there into October.”
Involved down to the smallest detail
Meteor Systems first supplied the Depestel family back in 2005, with a growing gutter system for their new greenhouse. “Those gutters are still hanging there today,” says Steven. “The quality of the products is excellent. And just as important: they genuinely work through it with you. They don’t just deliver a system. We design it together, and they advise right down to the smallest detail, such as the height of the truss supports. That makes them very good to work with, and it means your growing system really fits your operation.”
With the current area, modern on-site accommodation for staff and a tray field for propagating plants, the business is in balance for Steven and Iwona. “Our focus now is mainly on automation,” says Steven. Two UV robots already run in the Mini-Air, treating three rows at once. “We also see potential in that for crop protection, mowing and releasing beneficials.”
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