It wasn't so long ago that large truss tomatoes were $6.99 to $7.99 per kilo. The price hardly ever varied. I noticed that my local fruit shop is now at $5.99 and that an Aldi catalogue this week advertised truss tomatoes for $2.99 per kilo. I started to wonder why. That's when I did a bit of research and found that there were 2 reasons for this. Reason 1 is that Aldi and Coles are bypassing the vegetable markets and the other middlemen and going direct to the growers. Reason 2 is one of supply and demand. It seems that three big companies have built huge greenhouses that are many hectares in size. They include Timbercorp, Costas and Moraitis. All three projects have all started to come on tap at around the same time.
Thats good news for consumers but beware, as over the last few weeks I have tasted some of the various truss tomatoes and would suggest that there is a difference in flavour. Some of this may be attributable to variety grown, but there are other factors at play. You see if a greenhouse is built in the wrong place, or the temperatures in it cannot be stopped from getting too high because the cooling system or shading are not adequate, then these tomatoes will use a lot of water and too much water will mean less flavour. Therefore quality will vary so keep an eye on who's tomatoes you are eating (your green grocer will know) and keep in mind that price can refelect quality. I have always thought Flavourite had a nice flavoured truss tomato but will be analysing all future purchases much more closely.
Of course things can change, and there may be a shortage of field grown tomatoes in Eastern Australia in the coming months which may force truss prices back up. Field tomatoes finished up earlier in Vic and SA due to extremly hot weather and then a fair bit of rain that encouraged mildew was the final nail in the coffin. The Queenslanders were expecting a bumper start to their season but were inundated with heavy rain and consequently couldn't get their tractors out to play. You see in Qld growing regions like Bundaberg and Bowen, summer is too wet and humid for tomato growing - you get lots of fungal problems, so they grow them in the 'dry season', starting in Autumn.
A lot of people knock greenhouse hydroponic vegetable growing as "using lots of chemicals" and "fruit is tasteless". In actual fact, a greenhouse grower has the advantage of a controlled environment and can dose precise amounts of fertiliser, actually minimising its use. It can also minimise pesticicde use as it doesn't suffer from frosts, rain, dew or excess humidity. In many cases it probably also uses less water than field tomatoes. One thing with all commercially grown vegetables however is the emphasis on growing varieties that can be transported many miles, refrigerated and sometimes transported many miles again. This is where a big fat juicy sun ripened home grown tomato will always win out.
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