With British Columbia’s organic greenhouse English cucumber season well underway, Raymond Wong said on March 23 he is expecting beefsteak and tomatoes-on-the-vine as well as red, yellow and orange bell peppers to start shipping by early April.

Wong, president of Origin Organic Farms in Delta, B.C., said the greenhouse season will run through November, and he noted a mild winter leading into 2015’s initial shipping made for somewhat early product and also exceptional taste and texture.

“The crop matured faster than we anticipated,” Wong told The Produce News. He added that OriginO has been working on new growing methods, and the result is “a cucumber with even more taste complexity, sweet and crunchy.”

The English cucumber presents in a large and uniform size, and Wong said his organic growing operation strives for healthy plants, good flavor and texture. He noted that all greenhouse procedures are held in accordance to organic certification, adding the growing medium and enhancements are a proprietary blend.

The medium, he said, is primarily coconut fiber and compost, with added organic amendments.

“We have come to recognize that the plants — and what they yield — really are the byproducts of the soil,” he explained. “We are putting greater focus on the soil mixture and applying nutrients directly into it instead of drip feeding them into the plants like we have in the past.”

The change is discernible in everything OriginO grows, but especially in the cucumbers, he said. And at the same time OriginO improves on its growing techniques, Wong noted, “We are constantly looking at new varieties of product, always focusing on taste. We do taste tests, and we’ve found our Endeavor variety of TOV is the sweetest and has the firmest flesh. It also has the best shelf life.”

Peppers are also developed with taste and nutrition in mind, and the reds, yellows and oranges will be in increased supplies this season from the operation’s 23 acres under glass, he noted.

Regarding packaging, OriginO will be shipping two-packs of cucumbers featuring Ernie from Sesame Street. Wong said he thinks this is likely the first organic item to appear in the Sesame Workshop/Produce Marketing Assocation “eat brighter!” initiative since the campaign was unveiled in 2014.  

“The ‘eat brighter’ movement shares many of the basic values that stand behind organic growing practices,” Wong said. “It’s an investment in a healthy future for families and for the planet. We believe it is just a good thing to do.”

Pairing ‘eat brighter!’ with the popular OriginO brand will start with cucumbers then parlay into peppers once the harvest begins, according to Aaron Quon, executive greenhouse category director for The Oppenheimer Group. Oppy is the exclusive marketer for OriginO.

“We’re excited to extend our participation in ‘eat brighter!’ not only with OriginO cucumbers but also with a two-count pack of peppers featuring Grover in the coming weeks,” Quon said.