A Good Business Any Way You Slice It
By Auburn Cecil

                As the cold air of winter continues to flow over the Smith Mountain Lake area, there are a few things that we don’t expect to see – bathing suits, water skiers and beautifully-ripe, locally-grown tomatoes.
                However, if you’ve been to some of the lake’s finest restaurants – including Vieira’s, Blackwater Café, and The Westlake Golf & Country Club – you might have noticed the perfectly ripe and delicious tomatoes they have been serving.
                These restaurants and many others have been purchasing locally-grown tomatoes from Fox Farm. Curious as to how “summertime” tomatoes can be produced here all year long? It’s hydroponics.
                If you’ve been to Disney’s Epcot Center, you probably heard about hydroponics during the “Living With The Land ride.” It simply means “working water,” and is a process of growing that involves feeding plants nutrient-rich water in a controlled environment instead of planting them in the ground. In fact, with hydroponics you don’t use any soil at all. After going on the ride nearly 25 years ago, Robin Fox of Cape Town, South Africa, became interested in this unique form of farming.
                Soon after his trip to Disney World, Robin settled down in the Tidewater area. While he and his wife Jennifer both had great careers, they really wanted to do something together. One night they brainstormed about all the different things they could do, and he mentioned hydroponics. Neither of them had ever done any farming, so they bought a little hydroponic window box and grew cherry tomatoes and lettuce. They were so happy with the results that they decided it could be their chance to do something together.
However, starting the business was more work than they had ever imagined.
                “We had to find a piece of land suitable for the greenhouse that was also within delivery range from a community of at least 40,000 people,” said Robin. “Then we attended a special growing workshop in Ohio.”
                With their plans ready, Robin and Jennifer ordered a greenhouse large enough to house 870 plants. When the five tons of supplies arrived, the two of them put everything together except for the plumbing and electric.
                “It was quite a workout. We moved over 80 tons of gravel by wheelbarrow,” said Jennifer.
                Robin added, “Hydroponics is more like science than farming, but that is the way most farming has become. The whole greenhouse is computer controlled to stay at the perfect temperature, maintain less than 80 percent humidity and to deliver the right amount of water to each plant.”
                To keep the conditions at the right levels, the computer controls heaters, fans and even a boiler that warms the ground with more than 1.5 miles of tubing submerged in gravel. Since hydroponics was designed to grow vegetables without soil, the seeds are planted in perlite. Perlite is a super heated lava rock that can retain three-times its weight in water and ensure the plant’s roots never dry out. Bumble bees are also brought in to pollinate the tomato plants. These factors combine to produce the best tomatoes possible all year – without the use of pesticides.
                “Our tomatoes taste more like homegrown because we allow them to ripen on the vine,” explained Robin. “Most transported tomatoes are picked green because that helps them to last longer during shipping. Then they are gassed which activates the enzyme that changes their color to red.”
                The Fox Farm tomatoes are allowed to ripen naturally, and are picked so they just have to sit on the counter for a couple of days to reach their perfect color and tenderness. Hydroponic tomatoes are also known to stay fresh longer, so you don’t have to refrigerate them before they are cut.
                While Fox Farms doesn’t sell directly to the public, you can find their tomatoes at several area stores including Homestead Creamery, Diamond Hill General Store, The General Store and Roanoke Natural Foods. Fox Farms also serves many of the upscale restaurants and gourmet stores across the area and into Roanoke. To ensure the tomatoes are always perfectly fresh off the vine, Fox Farms delivers twice a week to all of their locations.
                Since homegrown tomatoes are so abundant during the summer, Robin and Jennifer plant in September and harvest during the rest of the year. Jennifer explains, “Our season ends in June, so we get the summers off while everyone else is producing tomatoes.”
The short break also allows them to start a new crop. Theoretically, the same plant could produce tomatoes for years.
                “The plants hang, so every few weeks I have to lower them so they have more room to grow,” Robin said. “While they will continue to produce tomatoes, the longer the vines get, the smaller the tomatoes become.”
                Robin and Jennifer take such good care of their plants that an alarm system will go off in the house if the computer levels change during the night and don’t stay in the right set parameters. It’s a 24-hour-a-day job, but it is something they really enjoy.