NatureFresh’s new Ohio greenhouse gets first plants
NatureFresh’s new Ohio greenhouse gets first plants
The reality of locally grown tomatoes from Ohio in the heart of winter took a gigantic step forward when greenhouse grower NatureFresh Farms announced that the first tomato plants for its new high-tech 15-acre Delta, OH, greenhouse had arrived on site and were planted, highlighting the completion of the construction of Phase I.
Peter Quiring, president of NatureFresh, with the first tomato plants for the company's new high-tech 15-acre Delta, OH, greenhouse.
“This is a great day for NatureFresh to see the first tomato plants arrive here at our new greenhouse in Ohio,” Peter Quiring, president, said in a Nov. 30 press release.
In just over six months from the groundbreaking, NatureFresh built a state-of-the-art facility that will produce locally grown greenhouse tomatoes year round. This will be a first for the state of Ohio to have locally grown tomatoes 12 months a year.
“We will be heading in to 2016 with 130 acres in Leamington, ON, and 15 acres in Delta, OH, for a total of 145 acres under glass,” Quiring added.
Construction of NatureFresh’s Phase II of 30 acres has already begun and expected to be completed by the middle of next summer.
NatureFresh Farms grows and markets an extensive variety of tomatoes, Bell peppers and cucumbers.
“The demand for locally grown produce is increasing year over year,” Ray Wowryk, director of business development, added in the press release. “By reducing food miles and growing closer to home, consumers will have the opportunity starting in February to purchase Ohio grown tomatoes in the winter, which is a first.”
NatureFresh unveiled its OhioRed brand for its new Ohio grown product recently at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit in Atlanta. The first crop of OhioRed Tomatoes is expected to be ready for picking in mid-February 2016.
“The increase in our acreage in Ohio will help us provide even more product to our key retail accounts in the Midwest and in Canada,” said Wowryk.