EZ Grow Farms, North American supplier of strawberry plant material, yesterday celebrated the grand opening of its new high-tech greenhouse. The new 18,5-acre glass greenhouse in Langton, Ontario, Canada, is equipped with advanced systems designed to optimize strawberry propagation and complements the company's existing 6.5 acres of retractable roof greenhouse. "We are not even 6 months operational in this new glasshouse, but the window of opportunities it opens up is amazing", said Dusty Zamecnik, general manager.
EZ Grow Farms, originally founded in the 1930s by Ed Zamecnik, has evolved from a small operation focused on tobacco, various berries, and even tomato plants, into a major player in the strawberry plant industry. Earlier on Dusty, who's also the grandson of the founder, elaborated on the company's growth from producing 100,000 plants to over 30 million annually, reflecting a deep-rooted family legacy and a commitment to innovation and quality. The investment in the new facility aligns with EZ Grow's broader goals of enhancing flexibility in delivery timing and improving plant quality. "Our objective with this greenhouse is to provide ultimate flexibility in delivery timing, giving our customers the confidence in the plant quality they receive", Dusty said. And it's starting to pay off: "We can now provide young plants from June first till the End of October, we truly appreciate all customers embracing our advanced approaches."
The 19-acre glass facility is built by South Essex Fabrication. "At the new EZ Grow facility, our team had the chance to install a variety of cutting-edge growing technologies that will help our client produce high-quality berries more efficiently, with a greater delivery window and plant-type flexibility. By implementing these cutting-edge technologies, we're confident that the new EZ Grow facility will be a game-changer for berry propagation and set a new standard for sustainable, high-quality crop production", the South Essex team shared. These growing technologies include Growtec's hoisting gutter system, Robur's crop care platforms, and MJ-Tech's high-pressure fogging system, which collectively enhance the company's ability to manage plant health and quality effectively. EZ Grow Farms is the first in North America to integrate these three technologies into a single facility and the first that will go for 100% supplies of young plants out of a controlled environment.
And there's more cool stuff to find. EZ Grow Farms also launched its Berry Verification Centre, which will be an industry hub to further understand the relationship with plants, global varieties & breeders, chemistry, substrates, and more for North American berry production growing practices. The Centre, which will be named the Ed Zamecnik Berry Testing Center, will have three tunnel types to introduce with improved venting and gutter position capabilities.
Check out the irrigation boom at work here:
For more information:
EZ Grow
www.ezgrow.ca