BC hothouse

If you are shopping at Quincy Market in Boston or at any major supermarkets
in LA or Miami, you will probably find the tomatoes they sell there come from
Delta, B.C. I had three visits to the greenhouses in Ladner (part of Delta) in
the past few years. Learning about the greenhouse environment and the technology
needed to construct and operate them was completely new experience to me.
I hope to share this invigorating experience with the following images,
taken during my last visit to Gipaanda Greenhouses in the summer of 2005.

greenhouse tomatoes

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

tomato path

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

greenhouse exterior

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: courtesy of Jenny Xu

tomatoes on the vines

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

Romana

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

beefsteak tomatoes

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

the environment

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

ferterlizing+irrigation

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

work in progress

ladner. B.C. July 2005. Photo: v.c.

cherry tomatoes

ladner. B.C. July 2005. photo: v.c.

economics of greenhouse tomatoes

UBC SOA July 2005. Drawing: v.c.

Delta's greenhouse tomatoes have played an important
role in the growth of Canadian economy since the 1970s.
In 2004, greenhouses produced more than 160 million
pounds of tomatoes in 5 different varieties. Each year
about 70% of the greenhouse tomatoes are ship and sold
to markets in major U.S. cities.

Today, fields of greenhouses appear in the landscape of
Tsawwassen, Ladner, and along highway 99 (Canada).


Camera: Nikon FM-2 + Nikon coolpix2500
Drawing: © v.c.