Our growing system is coconut coir slabs on raised troughs. It helps produce better quality crops, for a longer harvesting period. Since coconut coir is biodegradable natural product, there is a multitude of uses post greenhouse. It also provides a cleaner less stressful working environment for our employees.

No. The plants are grown and shipped to us at a height of ten to twelve inches, by a greenhouse specializing in propagation.

In view of the size of our greenhouses, grow lights would be very expensive to purchase, and even more expensive to operate. The cost of the energy required would exceed the value of the product.

Soil-less growing means no weeds, no cultivation, no soil-borne diseases, or insects. This results in produce with a superior taste, appearance, uniformity and extended shelf life. Less water and less fertilizer are required, and the use of biological controls, including "good bugs eating bad bugs", allows safe methods of insect control. The concept is simple: strips of yellow sticky paper are set out to catch and count the pests, and predators or parasites are released accordingly. It is a virtually pesticide-free way of keeping crops healthy.

Bumblebees, not honeybees, are used to pollinate, resulting in improved fruit quality and labour efficiency. They are sent to us in hives, and kept in balance with the number of open flowers.

All work involved in tomato production is done by hand. Plants are clipped onto a string suspended from an overhead wire, on a weekly basis. Sucker stems are removed, and clusters of fruit are pruned and supports. Bottom leaves are removed, which allows the plants to be lowered when their height exceeds the overhead wire. The tomatoes are handpicked, gathered in baskets, and packaged in the warehouse. An electronic grading machine sorts the tomatoes by weight. Once sorted, they are hand packaged into fifteen pound flats, ready for delivery to the retailer.

Once the flowers are pollinated, the fruit grows rapidly, and will be ready for harvest six to eight weeks later. We are able to harvest for approximately 10 months of the year.

We use a technique called "interplanting". This is the process of setting new plants in between older plants while continuing to harvest off of these plants. The plants reach a height of approximately twenty feet. The fall crop will peak at about fifteen feet, depending upon the amount of natural sunlight.

None of the Ontario Greenhouse vegetables are genetically modified.

Never refrigate tomatoes; store at cool room temperature (54 degrees F), out of direct sunlight.