2015 Winners

Greenhouse Industry growers and marketers entered a record 165 entries into the competitions which celebrate Essex County as being the largest greenhouse industry in North America.

On June 19-20, 2015 at the Leamington Fair, R.E.A.CH. International hosted its 9th annual Greenhouse Competitions including “The Hottest Tomato” ,  “The Perfect Pepper” and “The Coolest Cucumber” Competitions.

These unique competitions, presented in part for a second year by Red Sun Farms, happen in two stages.  First, on Friday evening, expert judges from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), grocery store produce managers, chefs and many others judged the 165 entries with a specialized list of criteria. Second, throughout Friday and Saturday, the public voted for their favourite Tomato, Pepper and Cucumber for the “People’s Choice” awards. The “Kids’ Choice” awards had our eager younger audience vote for their favourite Tomato, Pepper and Cucumber as well.

The Awards Ceremony, held on Saturday evening, awarded beautiful crystal trophies and bragging rights to all the best producers in North America.  

Special thanks to Red Sun Farms for their Farm level sponsorship of the event. The net proceeds from this event will be used for R.E.A.CH.’s main project in Uganda, Africa.

And the 2015 Winners in the Greenhouse Capital of North America are:

Coolest Cucumber Competition        

• Best English Cucumbers:
  Double Diamond’s English Cucumber – Entry #17    
• Best Mini Cucumbers:
  Pure Hothouse Foods Inc.’s Mini Cukes – Entry #126    
• Kids’ Choice Cucumber:
  Pure Hothouse Foods Inc.’s Cocktail Mini Cukes – Entry #113    
• People’s Choice Cucumber:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Cocktail Cucumber – Entry #72    
• Overall Best Cucumber:
  Pure Hothouse Foods Inc.’s Mini Cukes – Entry #126   

Perfect Pepper Competition    

• Red Bell Peppers:
  Mucci International / Mucci Pac’s Red Pepper – Entry #138    
• Yellow Bell Peppers:
  Nature Fresh Farms’ Yellow Pepper – Entry #7
• Orange Bell Peppers:
  Red Sun Farms’ Orange Pepper – Entry #89
• Specialty Mini Peppers:
  Orangeline Farms’ Zing! Red Bell Midi – Entry #65
• Specialty Bell Peppers:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Brown Pepper – Entry #28    
• Specialty Long Peppers:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Sweet Twister – Entry #27
• Specialty Hot Peppers:
  Westmoreland / Topline Produce’s Gourmet Hot Pepper – Entry #24    
• Kids’ Choice Pepper:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Sweet Twister – Entry #27    
• People’s Choice Pepper:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Sweet Twister – Entry #27    
• Overall Best Pepper:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Brown Pepper – Entry #28  

Hottest Tomato Competition   

• Best Beefsteak Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Tomato of Yore – Entry #161
• Best Cluster / T.O.V. Tomato:
  Del Fresco Produce’s Delights – Entry #2
• Best Roma Tomato:
  Mucci International / Mucci Pac’s Tango Pink – Entry #30
• Best Cocktail Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s Campari – Entry #127    
• Best Specialty Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s New Zima – Entry #84
• Best Bite Size Tomato:
  Del Fresco Produce’s Orangina – Entry #12
• Kids’ Choice Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s One Sweet Tomato – Entry #52
• People’s Choice Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s One Sweet Tomato – Entry #52
• Overall Best Tomato:
  Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET®’s New Zima – Entry #84

The proceeds from last year’s competition raised enough money to sponsor over 50 children in Uganda, Africa.  The sponsorships give the children food, school supplies, medicine and everything else they need to get an education and break the cycle of poverty.

R.E.A.CH. is a small charity run entirely by local volunteers. This small but mighty group has raised several thousands of dollars to build schools & clinics, create clean water sources, and sponsor and care for impoverished children in Uganda, Africa. Their unique program guarantees that 100% of child-sponsorship dollars goes to help the children. Separate fundraisers, such as this one, raise money for operating expenses. Since we’re all volunteers, our expenses are very low. Whatever we raise beyond those expenses also goes to our humanitarian projects.