The Rural Voice, 1993-01, Page 23tomatoes become avail-
able. The greenhouse is
out of production in
August and September
when field production is
high.
ir— --fie tomatoes are
planted in rock
wool and fed
through hydroponic
- drip irrigation. The
overflow of the fertilized
water is collected and the
fertilizer recovered so no
chemicals leave the
premises. Computers
control the climate. In the
portion of the greenhouse
that's used for year-round
production high-intensity
lights help fool the plants
into thinking it's June in
January. Not that the
plants are totally fooled.
The intensity of the light
affects the plants so that
even a snow-covered
ground can help the plants by
reflecting the light into the
greenhouse. Holroyd says you can
see production increase when the
days lengthen and the light
strengthens in February. "November
Allan Holroyd manages the greenhouse operation, finding the
same problems with prices and overhead as outdoor farmers.
staff have had to be entomologists as
well as botanists in running the
operation. Tiny cards, about the size
of a price ticket in a clothing store,
contain a dot about a quarter of an
inch in diameter. The dot is really the
eggs of a wasp that is the best friend
of greenhouse producers in their
battle against whitefly and other
pests. "We try not to use
chemicals", says
Holroyd and that lack of
chemicals is one of the
selling points of Bruce
Brand tomatoes. "I know
what they do in the fields in the U.S.
and Mexico," he says. People are
willing to pay more for the assurance
that their food isn't sprayed with
chemicals.
Bumble bees, bought in little
cardboard -carton hives, are new
workers in the greenhouse operation.
Until a few years ago workers at
Bruce Tropical used
vibrating mechanical
pollinators but now the
specially bred bumble
bees do the work seven
days a week. Not only
are they on duty full time, but they
can do a better job than their human
imitators. "They sense when
pollination is at its best, when the
light is at its best," Holroyd says.
When the light is bright, pollination
and December are terrible", he says.
While Bruce County can be
cloudier than the traditional
greenhouse growing operations in the
Leamington area there are also
advantages. There is more humidity
close to the lake, though the lake
effect can produce cloud in Tiverton
when there's sun in Walkerton just
inland. But the cooler temperatures in
Bruce can produce better quality
tomatoes in July when it actually
becomes too hot for the tropical
tomatoes.
In recent years, Holroyd and his
The tomatoes
grow in rock
wool, fertilized
hydroponically
Bumble bees
pollinate when
conditions best
works better. In the old
days, staff would pollinate
as part of their regular
schedule on Monday.
Wednesday and Friday.
but Monday might be a
dull day when pollination
wouldn't be as effective
while Tuesday, an off day,
might be bright and just
perfect.
The bees, he says, know
exactly when to go out. A
scout is sent out to sample
the pollen. If it returns
with a good supply of
pollen on its legs, the
others know it's
worthwhile leaving the
hive. If it fails to return
the others know it may
have become too tired
trying to find a full Toad.
The other bees stay home
and save their energy.
The special strain of
bee, called Impatient
bumble bees are used because they
don't need as much nectar as honcy
bees and tomatoes don't produce a lot
of nectar. They're fed honey to
provide the energy thcy need to do
their job, visiting every flower in the
greenhouse. The bumble bees cost
nearly the same as the mechanical
pollinating but the plants produce
more tomatoes when the bees do the
pollination.
nd that's a lot of tomatoes:
some 2.5 million pounds of
tomatoes a year. Workers
pick on Monday and
Thursday and the tomatoes
are packed and shipped out
immediately. The warehouse is
empty by Friday night.
Retail stores get 35 per cent of the
production and 15 per cent goes to
JANUARY 1993 19