It’s bananas: The very different greenhouse producing tropical fruit in Norfolk County

To be clear, Tony David is growing bananas in Norfolk County, not going bananas in Norfolk County.

But the distinction may not be entirely clear to some of his compatriots.

My friends think I'm nuts, but that's just normal," David laughed. I've always tried something different.

I don't usually go down the same path everybody else does."

David's divergent detour toward Canadian greenhouse production of not just bananas, but five tropical fruits (banana, papaya, guava, passion and dragon) began indirectly through a desire to eat healthier following a battle with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2010. Subsequent discussions with suppliers during involvement in school food programs opened David's eyes to how some tropical fruit may spend weeks in transportation prior to consumption.

There's something we can do here," he recalled thinking. Something we can change."

David's real estate agent responded with an opportunity to purchase an existing greenhouse banana operation near Blyth in Huron County. This introduction led to development of a subsequent production facility inside an acre of greenhouse space (43,000 square feet) on a farm outside of Simcoe.

The project's current status is establishing proof of concept in 4,000 square feet of that total, with the goal of ongoing incremental expansion.

David's business partner and de facto on-site operations manager, Pete Denhartogh, raised on a dairy farm before transitioning through goats to tropical fruits, has been active inside the greenhouse since the 2020 purchase and initial 2021 plantings.

You have to do something no one else is doing to get people interested and have to do something no one believes can be done," he says.

From one original Psidium guajava guava plant, three papayas and nine bananas, Denhartogh has established mature growth along with harvestable TR Hovey papaya fruit and 300 additional seedlings: 150 banana pups" and 160 other Blue Java (vanilla-like flavour), Double Mahoi (sweet, double-headed bunches of fruit), Apple (a very faint hint of apple) and Dwarf Cavendish (sweet flavour) banana plants in various stages, including one featuring a bunch encouragingly approaching harvest.

Depending on variety, bananas take 14 to 16 months to produce, says Denhartogh, a process accelerated to a year or less with optimal heat, humidity, air layering and care. And feeding them, they love food."

Locally produced bananas are softer in consistency than those most consumers are accustomed to, with David-attributed advantages including carbon offset realized from significantly reduced transportation, herbicide and pesticide-free production (they currently use organic principles, with the goal of achieving full certification), and the benefits of a naturally ripened product as the harvest timing reflects flavour and texture over considerations including shipping durability.

It's superb," says David, waxing almost poetically about the experience of picking and savouring one's own banana. You let it ripen a couple of days and the freshness is so much different, so much different."

Ice cream stores, specialty restaurants and individuals represent market opportunity to gobble up more locally, organically produced product (Blue Java seem to be the most popular) than can be produced in the short term, he believes.

It's got that nice vanilla flavour. If we had 15 acres of greenhouse, we probably couldn't keep up."

However, providing healthy tissue culture for Central and South American plantations beset by disease may represent higher long-term economic return for Canadian greenhouse banana production.

Admittedly, creating an artificial greenhouse-based tropical growing climate within southern Ontario brings significant cost, both in terms of infrastructure and operations. Part of the answer lies in the premium local, branded, niche-market the products can command; another portion lies in projected operational efficiencies.

David cites contemporary carbon taxes at around $40 a tonne, a figure projected to rise to $170 per tonne by 2030. Investigations of geothermal greenhouse heating technology are currently underway, which in conjunction with an array of solar panels, would allow for the goal of entirely off-the-grid operation.

You've got to reduce your carbon footprint," Denhartogh emphasized.

Ultimately, he believes passion and dragon fruit will anchor the production side of the operation, based on speed and volume potential.

If you get them to grow, after the first year it's just nuts. The amount and density they have is huge."

However, the idea of Canadian-grown bananas that first attracted David's attention continues to self-pollinate through the company's various social media platforms.

Our Facebook page is pretty busy," says David, who receives myriad global emailed inquiries about working on the farm. India, Morocco - it's non-stop."

COVID-19 restrictions terminated what were extremely popular facility tours, as well as a pick-your-own option David continues to find amazing" and something else."

You don't see it every day. You don't walk into a greenhouse and see bananas."

It's different," Denhartogh agreed in conclusion. It gets a lot of people's attention ... a lot of people's attention."