NPR dives into Canadian greenhouse industry
"The Leamington area probably has about 1,500 acres of greenhouse production," says Paul Mastronardi, CEO of Mastronardi Produce Sunset Grown.
Mastronardi says it all came from a decision his grandfather made in the 1940s. Umberto Mastronardi had been growing vegetables here the regular way, in open-air fields.
"He had a trip over to Europe and saw greenhouses in Holland, and he said, 'That'll work in Leamington. Let's get [away from] the weather controlling our destiny," says Mastronardi.
In heated greenhouses, he could grow vegetables for most of the year.
The technology spread quickly through two different tightly knit communities in Leamington: the Italians and the Mennonites. Over the years, the greenhouses got bigger and more sophisticated.
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