Producer
Elmira's Own
Contact: Kevin Belluz, local distributor for the Horst Family
Address: 2191 Arthur Street North Elmira , ON, N3B 2Z1
Website: https://www.elmirasown.com/
About Us
Located in rural Ontario Canada, Elmira's Own Tomatoes was started by a family with strong farming values. After supplying the local & surrounding communities with delicious, quality vegetables for many years, it was a Beefsteak Tomato that won the hearts of many! From there, Stuart Horst & his family grew Elmira's Own based on his dedication to flavour & natural growing practices. Now with several tomatoes apart of the Elmira's Own collection, they continue to surprise the taste buds of many with the garden fresh, sweet summer flavour, available all year. It's not just about producing the best looking tomato, but one with qualities & standards from your own garden. After all, the closer the tomato is to the plant, the better it is!
Practices
Plant Health
All our plants are grown from Non-GMO Seed. We believe this is the key to healthy plants and healthy food.
Our plants are all grown in shredded coconut husks called Coco Fiber. Coco Fiber works well for retaining nutrients and it also easily drains any excess water. This aids in the health of the plant's root system.
By growing the plants with a vertical growing technique, we can use our growing space more efficiently. The plant grows around a string and is clipped and supported so the stem does not break as the fruit matures.
Water & Nutrient Conservation
Our watering system is a 100% closed loop system. The nutrient water gets pumped through the irrigation system which uses drippers to deliver the water directly to the roots of the plants. All excess water is collected and recirculated back into the system which adds more nutrients if required.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is necessary for plant growth in a greenhouse. To feed CO2, we dose the exhaust from the boiler stack through small hoses to the plants.
Efficient Heating
Hot water pipes on the floors and around the outside walls, heat the greenhouses. To heat this water, we burn natural gas in high-efficiency boilers. During the day, the boilers need to run to provide CO2 for the plants and the hot water is stored in storage tanks and circulated as needed.
Climate Control
Since we grow indoors, controlling the climate conditions for the plants becomes a full-time job. We use a climate-control computer system which is managed by our growers. This system controls temperature, humidity, air flow, ventilation, and watering to name a few.
We also use energy screens which help trap heat thus reducing the need for heating. These screens are also used to shade the plants on extremely hot summer days.
Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management strategies are used to control the bad bugs. We use sticky tape, predator mites, and other bugs to help control the bad bugs. This enables us to make using pesticides a rarity.
Bumble bees are used to do the pollinating. Pollination needs to be done everyday, and though we have done it by hand, nothing does it more effectively than bumble bees.
Compostable Packaging
Elmira's Own has switched to 100% home compostable packaging for all its products. On average, we pick about 20,000 flats or 240,000 clamshells of tomatoes yearly. That would be about 20,000 lbs or 10 tons of plastic going into the landfills every year.
Instead, we use punnets and trays made of wood pulp. These can decompose naturally in your backyard.
The film we use to wrap our product in is made of cellulose derived from wood pulp. This gets heat sealed and helps retain the shelf life of our product.
The labels are made from white bioplastic formed from wood cellulose. The ink and the adhesive are also compostable.
All our plants are grown from Non-GMO Seed. We believe this is the key to healthy plants and healthy food.
Our plants are all grown in shredded coconut husks called Coco Fiber. Coco Fiber works well for retaining nutrients and it also easily drains any excess water. This aids in the health of the plant's root system.
By growing the plants with a vertical growing technique, we can use our growing space more efficiently. The plant grows around a string and is clipped and supported so the stem does not break as the fruit matures.
Water & Nutrient Conservation
Our watering system is a 100% closed loop system. The nutrient water gets pumped through the irrigation system which uses drippers to deliver the water directly to the roots of the plants. All excess water is collected and recirculated back into the system which adds more nutrients if required.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is necessary for plant growth in a greenhouse. To feed CO2, we dose the exhaust from the boiler stack through small hoses to the plants.
Efficient Heating
Hot water pipes on the floors and around the outside walls, heat the greenhouses. To heat this water, we burn natural gas in high-efficiency boilers. During the day, the boilers need to run to provide CO2 for the plants and the hot water is stored in storage tanks and circulated as needed.
Climate Control
Since we grow indoors, controlling the climate conditions for the plants becomes a full-time job. We use a climate-control computer system which is managed by our growers. This system controls temperature, humidity, air flow, ventilation, and watering to name a few.
We also use energy screens which help trap heat thus reducing the need for heating. These screens are also used to shade the plants on extremely hot summer days.
Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management strategies are used to control the bad bugs. We use sticky tape, predator mites, and other bugs to help control the bad bugs. This enables us to make using pesticides a rarity.
Bumble bees are used to do the pollinating. Pollination needs to be done everyday, and though we have done it by hand, nothing does it more effectively than bumble bees.
Compostable Packaging
Elmira's Own has switched to 100% home compostable packaging for all its products. On average, we pick about 20,000 flats or 240,000 clamshells of tomatoes yearly. That would be about 20,000 lbs or 10 tons of plastic going into the landfills every year.
Instead, we use punnets and trays made of wood pulp. These can decompose naturally in your backyard.
The film we use to wrap our product in is made of cellulose derived from wood pulp. This gets heat sealed and helps retain the shelf life of our product.
The labels are made from white bioplastic formed from wood cellulose. The ink and the adhesive are also compostable.