{"id":11077,"date":"2012-05-18T16:11:27","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T21:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=11077"},"modified":"2012-07-30T16:06:26","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T21:06:26","slug":"how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"How Texas is Growing Tomatoes in the Middle of the Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-11077 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/tomato\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/0-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/0-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/0-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/0-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11079'>\n\t\t\t\tTomatoes on the vine at Village Farms new thirty-acre greenhouse in Monahans, Texas.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/1\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/1-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11078'>\n\t\t\t\tThe vines are suspended from the ceiling, with large cylinders circulating air beneath them.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/2-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/2-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/2-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11080'>\n\t\t\t\tThe tomatoes are grown in coco peat instead of soil, greatly reducing impact on land and waterways. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/3\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11081'>\n\t\t\t\tCommissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples inspects the tomatoes.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/4\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/4-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/4-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/4-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/4-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11082'>\n\t\t\t\tComputers control temperature, air and humidity. Bees are allowed in for pollination, but other bugs are kept out, eliminating the need for pesticides. Large tubes keep air circulating beneath the tomatoes.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/7\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/7-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/7-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/7-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/7-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/8\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11086\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11086'>\n\t\t\t\tDoug Kling says &#8220;there&#8217;s a peacefulness&#8221; to the greenhouse.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/10\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/10-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11088\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/10-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/10-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/10-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11088'>\n\t\t\t\tThe end product: bushels of Texas tomatoes.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/11\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/11-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11089\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/11-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/11-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/11-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11089'>\n\t\t\t\tPrecisely-beveled glass diffuses light on the tomatoes, providing equal amounts of sunlight to the crop.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/13\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/13-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11091\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/13-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/13-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/13-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11091'>\n\t\t\t\tCommissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples and Village Farms officials tour the greenhouse.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Next time you buy a Texas tomato, check where it was grown. The answer might surprise you. That&#8217;s because ninety percent of the state\u2019s tomatoes come from a few greenhouses in the arid deserts of Far West Texas. (You can see a detailed breakdown of how the process works in the slideshow above.)<\/p>\n<p>The latest addition to that group is a massive glass facility in Monahans, outside of Odessa. It officially opened for business this week.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cWell, when you look at this, this is like a giant, 15-acre, indoor garden,&#8221; says\u00a0Doug Kling, Senior Vice President for <a href=\"http:\/\/villagefarms.com\/\">Village Farms,<\/a> which owns and operates the greenhouse.\u00a0\u201cPollinated [by] bees, and grown naturally. Where the sunlight comes in and you can smell the calyx. It\u2019s kind of exciting. There\u2019s a peacefulness to it.\u201d<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So how exactly do you grow tomatoes in the desert?<!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11086\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/8\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11086\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11086\" title=\"8\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/8-620x415.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Filipa Rodrigues\/StateImpact Texas<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doug Kling says &quot;there&#39;s a peacefulness&quot; to the greenhouse.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;The way this works is, we don&#8217;t grow in the soil. We grow in a steril environment, like <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Coco_peat\">coco peat<\/a>,&#8221; says Kling. &#8220;There&#8217;s no hard minerals in that, like arsenic. So what we do is, we control the environment by controlling the airflow in the greenhouse, closing the vents off, misting from the top to makes sure it&#8217;s humid enough so the plants don&#8217;t dry out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The plants are &#8220;infused&#8221; in water in the coco peat, and any runoff is captured in a gutter underneath. &#8220;We recycle that up to five times,&#8221; Kling says, &#8220;which allows us to use 87 percent less water than in the field.&#8221; That water is then sent to the city golf course. &#8220;And because of the ultimate climate conditions,&#8221; Kling adds, &#8220;we get thirty times the yield of a [traditional] field per acre.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bees are allowed in to pollinate, but other bugs are kept out, eliminating the need for pesticides.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11081\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/18\/how-texas-is-growing-tomatoes-in-the-middle-of-the-desert\/attachment\/3\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11081\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11081\" title=\"3\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/3-620x434.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Filipa Rodrigues\/StateImpact Texas<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples inspects the tomatoes.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Texas Commissioner of Agriculture <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/23\/lost-to-the-drought-a-conversation-with-ag-commissioner-todd-staples\/\">Todd Staples <\/a>was on hand for the ribbon-cutting. He invited a group of reporters, including StateImpact Texas, to fly out with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a facility here that uses one-fifth of the water of traditionally field grown crops and has forty times the yield,&#8221; Staples says. &#8220;It\u2019s a phenomenal system that\u2019s been put together and really an example of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Village Farms says the project will bring 400 full-time jobs to the area. The company plans to expand the facility to over 120 acres of greenhouse farming in the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Next time you buy a Texas tomato, check where it in the state it was grown. The answer might surprise you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":11079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11077"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}