The Canadian province of Ontario has approximately 3,000 acres of greenhouses divided about equally between tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.
The Ontario Vegetable Greenhouse Association in Lemington hopes there will be an additional 350 acres or so within the next couple of years. The uncertainty stems from pot legalization in Canada in 2018. Cannabis demand apparently is so high it has put a crunch on availability of work crews and materials used in building greenhouses.
Expansion of some vegetable greenhouses has been put on hold until builders can catch up.
In 2019 the greenhouse vegetable industry expected a 9 percent growth rate, but it ended up being less than 2 percent.
Some operators with heated, well-lit facilities produce nearly year-round, but others will start picking in late winter. Cucumbers loadings got underway the last half of February and tomatoes begin in the middle of March, while bell peppers will start towards the end of March.
Mastronardi Produce Ltd. of Kingsville, Ontario reports even with favorable weather there simply isn’t enough sunlight hours this time of the year, which limits production. Having high-tech lighting in greenhouses does help.
Mastronardi has expanded its acreage for specialty tomatoes as demand continues to increase.
Pure Hot House Foods Inc. in Leamington received over 265,000 plants in early January.
The grower/shipper started picking its first crop of long English cucumbers in early February works with a number of growers across all regions each season for a consistent supply of conventional and organic tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and purple baby eggplant.
AMCO Produce of Leamington grows beefsteak tomatoes and seedless cucumbers the year around as well as bell peppers under lights.
The 35-year-old company has over 100 acres of greenhouse product and sees a 10 to 15 percent increase in volume this year.