About Ed van Paassen
Green fingers
Born in 1973, I took an early interest in plants. I grew up with horticulture near the 'City of Glass' Westland, west of Delft, where my parents ran a greenhouse nursery with tropical vegetables. I developed a broad passion for plants, their variation, growth & development, practical use etc. In my spare time you could always find me in the greenhouse, growing plants and doing experiments. Though my father grew veggies, personally I always favoured ornamental plants, particularly tropical orchids, bulbs, gingers and anything peculiar.
Studies
During my studies Dutch Glasshouse Horticulture at Agricultural College Delft I increased my network among horticultural production companies in the Westland nearby. After that I specialized in Plant Breeding at Wageningen University, where I deepened my scientific knowledge base. My dual studies resulted in affinity with both science and practice. During my career I pursued a part-time studies in the field of Information Management & Services at The Hague University. Besides that I joined various courses on webdesign, social media and Work 2.0. In summary my knowledge about plants and the internet complements the knowledge that growers have.
Career
I worked for several companies in the Dutch planting material reproduction sector in floriculture. Primarily in classical plant breeding and micropropagation (plant tissue culture), both R&D and production. In plant breeding I have worked with both seed propagated plants and vegetatively propagated plants. I have worked in all major Dutch agricultural centres: Westland, Wageningen, Aalsmeer and Enkhuizen. The crop range I have worked with includes vegetables, houseplants, cut flowers, garden plants and bulbs & tubers. After a career in the horticultural chain I started Agro Internet with a companion. Agro Internet offers online services to SME's in horticulture and agriculture. Services include building a website, webdesign, social media management, coöperation online.
People, Planet, Profit
I want to work in a sustainable, responsible way. And am eager to meet like-minded people around the globe. I am eager to share my know-how. For both SME's and non-profit organizations. My plant know-how has wide applications in:
- horticulture
- biobased business (BBE)
- agricultural development work
- 'green cities'
Interests
My hobbies include:
- Gardening (from growing plants, to construction works)
- Home Cooking
- Plant Assortment Research (ornamentals, food crops) Plant Hunting (exploring nature's biodiversity)
- Photography
- Photoshop
- Traveling
- Visit Garden Events
