NatureFresh Farms picks first OhioRed tomato crop
NatureFresh Farms picks first OhioRed tomato crop
With an active tomato market during the last few months, NatureFresh Farms created a breathe of fresh air in late February with the harvest of its first crop of OhioRed tomatoes.
“It’s a great day for NatureFresh to pick the first crop from a new greenhouse, especially in the middle of winter in Ohio,” Peter Quiring, president of NatureFresh Farms, said in a press release.
NatureFresh announced in January 2015 that it would be building a 180-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse project in Delta, OH, that would allow the company to grow year round in the Midwest. Interest in the project picked up considerable steam in the fall when the first tomato crop was planted in November. With an increase in hours of sunlight over the coming weeks, crop projections will rise which will mean more Ohio tomatoes making their way to the market.
“We continue to receive email and social media messages daily from consumers that are all over the Midwest asking about our new OhioRed brand tomatoes and when they will be available,” Chris Veillon, director of marketing for NatureFresh, added in the press release.
Peter Quiring, president of NatureFresh Farms.
Given the location of the facility in Ohio and unique nature of greenhouse vegetable growing, the company has been getting a great deal of interest from local schools wanting tours of the greenhouse. “We look forward to educating students from all over the Midwest about greenhouse growing, just like we do with our mobile Greenhouse Education Center,” Veillon added.
The company’s #GreenInTheCity tour kicks off March 31 with the mobile greenhouse scheduled to attend more than 80 events in 2016.
Construction of NatureFresh’s Phase II of 15.3 acres is under way and will be completed later this summer. Phase III (also 15.3 acres) of the greenhouse facility will begin construction late this spring with completion expected in early fall 2016. This will bring NatureFresh’s total acreage of new construction to 45 acres in Ohio alone in less than 12 months.
The significant increase in acreage will enable NatureFresh Farms to grow tomatoes year-round in Ohio to meet the increasing demand from its customer base in the Midwest and Canada.
Combining the acreage being built in Delta, OH, with the company’s current Canadian production in Leamington, ON, NatureFresh will grow and market 175 acres of its own production. NatureFresh Farms continues to be one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America.
NatureFresh will be displaying the new OhioRed brand tomatoes at the SEPC’s Southern Exposure convention and trade show March 3-5 in Hollywood, FL. The company will be promoting their extensive line of greenhouse grown produce at booth No. 919.
