Blog

This is a great question! Thank you for the opportunity to share some of our expertise.

The fruit is picked green in some cases to extend its shelf life. This kind of process (an open field agriculture process environment) allows the fruit to mature after it has been picked and packed. By the time it reaches the customer, the fruit has obtained the desired color.

At NatureSweet, however, we use an advanced Crystal Greenhouse process.  This process allows us to hand pick our produce year-round in a unique controlled production environment, while preventing contamination by never exposing  the fruit to bare hands or other potential contaminants.  This high-tech process also allows us to pick our tomatoes when the color of the fruit meets our own specifications. That color is red. This means that we allow the fruit to reach its full development (consistency, flavor and color) while still it’s still hanging on the vine.  It is the picked, packed and delivered to our customers.  Growing our produce locally in Arizona enables us to provide our customers with a product of superior quality!

Oscar Martinez

Senior director Human Capital at NatureSweet in Willcox, AZ

Related articles

• Ask a Farmer: How Do You Give Back to the Community? (fillyourplate.org)
• Ask a Farmer: Do You Sell Crops at Local Farmer’s Markets? (fillyourplate.org)
• Ask a Farmer: Am I Getting the Freshest Produce? (fillyourplate.org)
• Ask a Farmer: Is Organic Farming Healthier? (fillyourplate.org)
• Ask a Farmer: Starting a Family Garden (fillyourplate.org)
• Ask a Farmer: Genetically Modified Crops  (fillyourplate.org)