Did you know that there are more than 3,800 acres of greenhouses in Ontario, growing more than 504 million kilograms of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in the province?
Ontario represents more than 72 percent of those greenhouse vegetables grown across Canada. Since they’re protected from weather, greenhouses allow growers to keep a controlled environment where they can grow all year long. As climate change continues to impact the predictability of weather conditions around the world, growing fruits and vegetables is becoming more and more challenging. Greenhouses have become an innovative and sustainable solution with a positive impact in many ways — here are some:
Implementing sustainable practices is a huge piece of the puzzle in fighting climate change. Most greenhouse crops are watered and fertilized using a closed-loop drip irrigation system. Excess water is then collected, treated to remove pathogens, topped up with nutrients, and sent through the drip irrigation process again. This results in huge savings on the water used in a greenhouse.
Greenhouse farms in Ontario also practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM), where good bugs are deployed, such as ladybugs and beneficial mites, which protect greenhouse crops from plant-feeding pests — i.e., fewer pesticides are used. To naturally pollinate the crop, bumble bees are placed in the greenhouse. This improves the quality and quantity of produce grown and also helps reduce the need for chemicals and pesticide use.
Read more at toronto.com
