The exterior and interior of the new Vermillion Growers greenhouse near Dauphin.

Enormous Dauphin greenhouse opens for tomato production 

In its initial phase, Vermillion Growers will supply 10 million pounds of tomatoes to the Prairie market

Within weeks, 10 acres of tomatoes will be growing in a Dauphin greenhouse, destined for distribution all over the Prairies. “It’s a little bit surreal, because we’ve been at it for such a long time, but at the same time, we’re all so ready,” said Maria Deschauer, managing director of Vermillion Growers. Why it matters:


This 36-foot-long tomato growing in the United States Botanic Garden greenhouse in Washington, D.C. celebrated its first birthday in March.

Titanic tomato is science fact, not science fiction

Hydroponically fed, it just keeps growing more than 14 months after being planted

Science fiction often portrays giant plants as monsters — think Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors,” and the marauding Triffids in “Day of the Triffids.” But the titanic tomato growing soilless here in the United States Botanic Garden greenhouse for more than a year seems benign enough, but its size and age make it

Vermilion Growers' facility under construction in July 2020.

Innovation on the vine

TECHNOLOGY From floors to climate managementsystem, Vermillion Growers is building for efficiency

Vermillion Growers in Dauphin thinks it’s time for Manitoba to step up its game on commercial greenhouses, and they’re just the people to make it happen. The final vision of what will, by next year, be the province’s largest commercial vegetable greenhouse, built from the ground up for sustainability and efficiency, may still take some


Bowl of fresh salsa dip isolated on white background

My favourite salsa recipes

It’s the perfect way to preserve extra tomatoes from the garden

Some people love this time of year because of the changing colour of leaves, the rumble of the combine or the kids going back to school. I love it because of the fresh garden tomatoes and homemade salsa. If you’ve never made your own fresh salsa, stop everything and make a batch right now; you’re

Manitoba gardeners need to be watching for late blight in their tomatoes and potatoes. These tomatoes have late blight and should be destroyed to protect Manitoba’s 64,500 acres of commercial potatoes.

Manitoba potato growers, gardeners need to scout for late blight

Home gardens can be a source of infection for the fungal disease that can spread to commercial potato fields

Manitoba gardeners need to scout for late blight in their tomatoes and potatoes — not just to protect themselves, but the provinces’s 64,500 acres of commercial potato production. Late blight — the same fungal disease responsible for the Irish potato famine in the late 1840s — was detected July 16 in a potato field near


Tomatoes

Tomato Pie

True love and tomatoes

Only two things that money can’t buy. That’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.” I blissed out on John Denver music in the 1970s, so lines from his songs are forever burned in my brain. While picking tomatoes the other evening, this one naturally started looping through my head. I mentioned awhile back that we tried

Tomato genome project bears fruit

An international team of scientists has cracked the genetic code of the domesticated tomato and its wild ancestor, an achievement which should help breeders identify the genes needed to develop tastier and more nutritious varieties. The full genome sequence of a tomato breed known as Heinz 1706, and a draft sequence for its closest wild


In A Pickle Over Blight – for Sep. 23, 2010

Disheartened to see our garden tomatoes infected with blight this year, but determined to salvage something, I took the least-damaged green fruits (nothing ripened this year!), cut off the blemishes and proceeded to can twenty 500-ml jars of green tomato pickle. It was only after the last lid snapped, that I began to wonder: even

Fun Ideas For “Crazy” Container Plantings

NATIONAL GARDEN BUREAU Hanging basket – Cherry tomatoes. Vines will hang down over the sides. Large sweater boxes – Great for a hodgepodge of lettuce or mesclun. Old buckets – One tomato or pepper plant. Sow cilantro around it. Whiskey barrels – One winter squash plant. An old boot – One Swiss chard plant. A