Tabletop
Ontario berry growers have developed some extremely innovative growing systems, but they are also quick to adopt good ideas from other countries. That’s the case with the innovative practice of growing strawberries on tunnel-protected tabletops.
Beginning in 2018, a handful of growers started to experiment with this Dutch-tested system that provides several advantages. First, it’s far easier to harvest berries at waist height than to bend over to reach the ground. Secondly, the berries are better quality because they grow in circulating fresh air, rather than close to the ground where they can be infected by soil-borne diseases.
Thirdly, because they are grown under cover, the berries can’t be damaged by wind or splashed by rain.
As a fourth benefit, the system is more efficient for water and fertilizer. In particular, fertilizer application is reduced by being highly targeted, and water can be recirculated.