Food and Farming Canada » flowers

New crops in local soils raising high hopes

Lilian — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:06:56 +0000

Ontario lavender bunches

Lavender, hazelnuts and sweet potatoes are not crops we commonly associate with this province.

Yet they’re starting to emerge in Ontario’s south coast area, the fertile sand plains in Norfolk, Brant, Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties where tobacco used to reign supreme.

As the decline of the tobacco industry continued [...]

Thermal blanket helps lower greenhouse energy costs

Lilian — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:26:54 +0000

Farmers are looking at many different solutions for dealing with rising energy costs. For one greenhouse grower, the answer lies with a new technology, a thermal blanket installation, which is expected to lower his energy costs by about one-third.

Gerard Schouwenaar of Orchard Park Growers, a St. Catharines-area flower producer, retrofitted a 30,000 sq ft greenhouse in [...]

Lovely local lavender

Lilian — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:45:15 +0000

To me, the thought of lavender always brings images of the south of France to mind – and a lovely vacation I spent there with my Mom in the late 1990s.

It’s time for me to change my thinking, though, because lavender is set to have a bigger presence as a homegrown Ontario crop as well. [...]

A floral paradise

Lilian — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:52:22 +0000

Imagine an 11 acre indoor garden with two kilometres of walking paths, 776 cubic feet of soil, 4736 square feet of pond surface and 300,000 visitors over eight days.

That’s the world famous Floralies of Ghent, an incredible floral and plant exposition that takes place once every five years – a tradition that’s been ongoing for [...]

Making a green industry greener

Lilian — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:56:31 +0000

It has a long and proud history – and now, seemingly, also an exciting future that may help make a green industry even greener by solving some major issues facing Canada’s horticultural sector.

The new Vineland Research and Commercialization Centre is what is evolving out of the old horticulture research station once run by the Ontario [...]

Buying local for Valentine’s Day

Lilian — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:49:13 +0000

There are more ways to buy local than just food. This Valentine’s Day, why not try fresh Ontario flowers?

The perfect example, say Ontario flower growers, are potted miniature roses – ideal for the upcoming Valentine’s occasion.

“The potted roses you see at your florist or at the grocery store are all grown by farmers right here in [...]