Ontario Greenhouse business updates
AMCO Produce adds beefsteaks
Leamington, Ontario-based AMCO Produce's account director Mitchell Amicone has high hopes for a new red beefsteak tomato with distinctive ridges.
Amicone heard about the monterosa several years ago and watched production double, then triple, in Spain before deciding to conduct his own trial.
Once ripe, he said the tomato will be packed directly into a 15-pound box with an assortment of sizes like an heirloom.
"It's going to be how I see it on the plant - gorgeous," he said. "Once you put a beefsteak on a tray and dump it on a line to go through grading it gets dinged and hit in the stem.
"This will go from vine to a high-end box and be sent to the distribution center or store within a day, having been touched by one person wearing gloves."
He's also promised to price his high-end, tasty beefsteak more competitively than an heirloom, "not outrageous."
He even has a new name for it - fiore, or "flower" in Italian.
"We'll start small, about 500 cases a week to a few local independent retailers," Amicone said. "I think it's going look nice on the shelves."
Fiore was planted in early January and should be ready to harvest in early March.
Mastronardi's pickle kit pays off
A discussion about the popularity of fermenting and preserving led to a new product for Kingsville, Ontario-based Mastronardi Produce, which markets under the Sunset brand.
"We did a soft launch of our Dill It Yourself Pickles last summer," said communications coordinator Daniela Ferro, "and it sold out so quickly we decided to expand it this spring."
The pail of pickling cucumbers, a special variety grown in Mastronardi greenhouses, comes with its own spice pouch, she said. Consumers fill the pail with half water and half vinegar, stir in the spices, add the washed cukes to the brine, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
"We tried it in-house, experimenting with different spices," Ferro said.
"The result is shockingly good."
Pure Hothouse Foods added an organic line of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers under its Pure Flavor label.Pure Hothouse offers organics
Leamington, Ontario-based Pure Hothouse Foods opened a 25-acre greenhouse last June just down the street from its corporate headquarters. Director of marketing Sarah Pau said the facility includes an automated packing line that incorporates full traceability and an automated gate that won't allow anyone in until they've completed a sanitation routine.
New products under the grower-shipper's Pure Flavor label include a full line of organic tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in clamshells and mesh bags.
To better connect with consumers, Pau is launching a series of videos offering cooking tips, cooking methods and recipes using Pure Flavor greenhouse-grown products.
NatureFresh plans greenhouse tours
The mobile greenhouse created by Leamington, Ontario-based NatureFresh Farms, now in its third year, will travel to more than 100 schools, camps, special events and supermarkets this year from April to November.
Director of marketing Chris Veillon said the program allows people to watch their food growing and encourages students to consider the varied careers available in agriculture.
Orangeline Farms harvests beans
Long European runner beans are now ready to harvest at Leamington, Ontario-based grower-shipper Orangeline Farms.
Marketing and communications director Jeff Epp said the long, flat beans can be cooked like asparagus.
"It's high in fiber and great for people looking for something different," Epp said.
The beans are sold in an 8-ounce tray under the Zing! Healthy Foods brand.
St. David's to build 25-acre greenhouse
To meet the growing demand for colored bell peppers, Vineland, Ontario-based St. David's Hydroponics laid the foundation for its new 25-acre greenhouse in the fall and expects to raise the structure in mid-February.
The first crop will be harvested in spring 2018. There are no plans to add lights, said Gord Bonisteel, marketing manager, since extra light doesn't benefit peppers as it does tomatoes.
St. David's grows 60 acres of greenhouse peppers and 15 acres of eggplant, Bonisteel said, making it one of Ontario's largest growers.
St. David's first eggplant of 2017 will be ready to harvest in early February, he said, and pepper harvesting should begin at the end of March, continuing until late November.
The company wasn't affected by the weevil that caused serious damage to the province's greenhouse pepper crop last year.
Sunrise Greenhouses grows lettuce
Ontario's newest living lettuce greenhouse has its roots in the flower world.
Sunrise Greenhouses in Vineland, Ontario, acquired the assets of the Niagara Lettuce Co. last year and is now growing hydroponic Boston and green oak leaf lettuce in cubes of oasis growing media along with its potted plants.
A clear plastic sleeve allows customers to see the root system of the mature lettuce, said Niki Kowalski, saleswoman.
"People go crazy for it," said Kowalski. "To keep it fresh for up to two weeks just put it in a glass of water."
Sunrise staff slip a seed into each piece of sponge and leave it in the seeding room for about a month under LED lights before transferring it to the hydroponic growing troughs.
The company is harvesting 1,300 to 1,500 heads a week with plans to continue growing.
Kowalski said the lettuce is sold to food box companies, natural food stores and smaller independents in the Niagara region, and retails for $2.59-2.99.
Lettuce too big for the package is donated to local community organizations.
Westmoreland Sales' organics succeed
The response to TopLine Farms' brand organic tomatoes-on-the-vine and grape tomatoes, launched last May, has been so enthusiastic that Leamington, Ontario-based Westmoreland Sales has increased acreage for both products, said Jimmy Coppola, account and marketing manager.
The grower-shipper also plans to add organic peppers, cucumbers and roma tomatoes to the new line.
