HPS lighting allows for Ohio grown tomatoes in fall, winter & spring

While most greenhouse tomato growers in the Northeast are nearing the end of a growing season, NatureFresh Farms in Delta, OH, is just getting started. With an abundance of off-peak power available from the grid, NatureFresh is using High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting to supplement its growing practices. 

OhioRed® Beefsteak 15lb

This will allow them to grow the OhioRed and TOMZ tomato brands through the fall, winter and spring.

This will mark the first season that NatureFresh Farms will have all 45 acres in Delta, Ohio available for production. This growing season will allow NatureFresh to offer fresh, locally grown tomatoes during a time of the year when retailers typically transition to distant sources of supply to fill their displays.

The OhioRed category of tomatoes will include: TOV’s, Red Beefsteak, Roma, and Green Beefsteak. Through the Delta facilities, NatureFresh Farms will allow retailers to promote locally grown tomatoes throughout the winter. 

The TOMZ snacking category will also be available and includes: Red Grape, Red Cherry, Yellow Grape, Orange Grape, Mixed Medley, and Cocktail varieties, available from the Delta location.

“We want to ensure that consumers clearly understand that this product is grown in Ohio, said Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development, and this is why we branded our Ohio tomato category OhioRed. The local and regional consumer response has been extremely positive. Our social media activity has increased since we launched the brand over a year ago and the consumers throughout Ohio and neighbouring states are pleased to have a winter source of local tomatoes.”

NatureFresh will be at the PMA Fresh Summit in New Orleans this October, and will have the OhioRed tomatoes on display along with the TOMZ snacking tomatoes at Booth #5029. “This will mark the first PMA where we will have all of our new crop on display” said Matt Quiring, Executive Retail Account Manager, NatureFresh.

“As the new crop takes shape in Delta, I am excited to see what the future of our 45 acres here in Ohio holds”, said Peter Quiring, President and Owner. 

“Having all three of our 15-acre growing phases start this September will increase our ability to service our customers demand for locally grown tomatoes through the winter season. Demand has pleasantly increased over the year for our Ohio product, and this growth will guide us toward increasing future production to meet the demand.”

For more information:

Ray Wowryk