Countless consumers continue to crave greenhouse produce, whether it’s grown as far north as Canada or south to Arizona.
In Leamington, Ontario, the 170 members of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers just reached the 4,000-acre mark for their tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers, said Richard Lee, executive director.
Greenhouse growers will ship more than 1.3 billion pounds of greenhouse vegetables out of Ontario, including 344 million pounds of tomatoes, 674 million pounds of cucumbers and 210 million pounds of peppers, Lee said. More than 85% of that product will be exported to the U.S.
At Policella Farms Sales in Kingsville, Ontario, company Vice President Rick Policella said spring seems to be shaping up well.
“The spring weather has been great with plenty of sunshine,” he said. “The crops are looking great, and all items are readily available with steady supplies from Policella Farms.”
The company offers greenhouse-grown tomatoes-on-the-vine, beefsteak tomatoes, seedless cucumbers, mini cucumbers and red, yellow and orange bell peppers.
Things are looking good at Leamington-based Erie James Ltd. as well.
“We’ve had good weather, and we’re in full production on all greenhouse products,” said owner Mark Slater.
In the tomato category, Erie James grows round, beefsteak, grape and cluster tomatoes as well as a medley pack that includes purple, red, yellow, orange and green cherry and grape tomatoes. The company also grows mini — or Euro — cucumbers and peppers.
All products are available year-round, and the firm’s volume should be similar to last year, Slater said.
In Arizona, Wholesum, with family farms in Amado as well as in Mexico’s Imuris and Sonora, experienced cooler and wetter-than-usual weather early in the year, but conditions turned warmer in spring, said Joanna Jaramillo, marketing manager.
The company offers an assortment of organic tomatoes, including snacking, medleys, tomatoes-on-the-vine, heirloom, cocktail, roma and beefsteak. Wholesum also grows long English cucumbers, mini cucumbers and mixed peppers.
All commodities are available year-round.
“In late spring, we are bringing back organic eggplant, shade house-grown in Queretaro,” Jaramillo said.
Quality of the crops should be good this season, she added, and volume should be similar to last year.
“This season we are particularly looking forward to continuing our organic heirloom tomato program from our Arizona farm,” Jaramillo said. “The crop quality is among the best that we have seen in heirloom tomatoes.”
The greenhouse industry offers numerous advantages to growers and consumers, industry members say.
For growers, Lee estimated that greenhouses produce almost 20 times more product per square meter than conventional farming operations.
Growers also use precision agriculture to support environmental sustainability, he said. That means, for example, using a closed-loop system to recapture water that’s then used in the next round of irrigation without adversely affecting the environment.
A controlled environment gives the plants the correct amount of water and nutrients they need, Policella said. And greenhouse-grown items offer increased shelf life, consistent quality and flavor, and they offer a steady supply year-round supply, he said.
The greenhouse infrastructure serves as a barrier to pests, minimizing exposure to external contaminants, Jaramillo added.
“And the environmental controls allow growers to optimize conditions such as temperature, humidity, air pressure and irrigation water to produce a consistent, high-quality crop that is not exposed to volatile weather conditions,” she said.
Year-round availability of greenhouse product allows for year-round employment for the labor-force and less turnover at the end of each season, she said.
