The Greenhouses

Each greenhouse structure is a double polyethelene arch style house. We have both environmental and irrigation controllers to automate the functioning of greenhouse equipment, providing a "watchful eye" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

At the present, we grow only beefsteak greenhouse tomatoes. Our cultural methods are specific to commercial tomato production, enabling the crop to be carried through nine months and growing to approximately 30 feet in length.

Our 3 new bays are gutter-connected to the original 2-bay house. Two of the new bays provide an additional 7,200 sq ft, and a shorter middle bay provides 3,000 sq ft of growing space, bringing our total production area to 17,400 sq ft. We reserved an additional 720 sq ft of space from the original house as a packing area. An additional 720 sq ft bay on the west side of our range houses a storage area and stock tanks in one room; a gas boiler and two waste oil boilers in a separate room. As composters utilizing waste materials from our on-farm equestrian program, topsoils and ponds, we are always searching for ways to close the loop in our recycling efforts. Our latest strategy includes incorporating waste oils to fire special burners attached to our boilers for providing some of our heating needs throughout the winter.

Our complete range now allows planting over 4,000 plants at any given time. We plan to continue our summer harvests as long as the heat and humidity of Alabama summers allow flowers to set fruit. Our summer schedule is dependent on environmental conditions and may change from year to year.

At Blackjack, our goal is to continue learning to provide both quality and diversity in greenhouse tomatoes.