From beefsteak tomatoes to tropical gardens
Source: VFD.com
The packing line currently handles production from around 30 acres of beefsteak tomatoes, with capacity for 50 acres. The company is expanding its greenhouse area by another 11 acres, with South Essex Fabricating building the new structure.
Full LED at JEM Farms The second stop was JEM Farms/Horteca, where grower Jamie Mastronardi answered questions on lighting, biostimulants, insect netting and labour requirements. The lamps are switched off when natural light reaches around 400 watts per square meter inside the greenhouse.
He estimates that in 95% of cases where something goes wrong in production, water management is the underlying cause. © Thijmen Tiersma | VerticalFarmDaily.com Research at Harrow The afternoon visit took the group to Harrow Research and Development Centre, which describes itself as North America's largest research facility dedicated to greenhouse production.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
