"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "mark" contains these words:

Did you know that British Sugar is the largest grower of round tomatoes
in
the UK and it happens in Norfolk?
http://www.britishsugar.co.uk/RVEcb3...7e8e268,,.aspx

Yes, and I regularly buy big bags of them for very little.

Without visiting the URL I can state that they are excellent, and
actually have flavour, and if you have ever driven by settlement lagoons
by a (beet) sugar factory, you'll understand how they are so productive.

Waste heat and waste materials combine to help the plants grow to a
height (I am informed) of around sixteen feet.

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I didn't see anything about the height of the tomato plants but found this:
mark

British Sugar's award-winning horticulture business produces between 70 - 80
million 'eco-friendly' tomatoes each year at Cornerways Nursery.

The tomatoes are grown in the UK's largest single tomato glasshouse which
covers an area of 11 hectares and they are harvested between April and
November.

All the produce is packed on-site in a modern packhouse, minimising handling
and transport and allowing produce to be despatched for supermarket shelves
less than 12 hours after being picked.

Over 5000 bumblebees, living in 100 bee hives, pollinate the crop and are
part of the nursery's integrated approach to crop management using natural
agents and predators in preference to agro-chemicals.

Cornerways Nursery benefits from its location close to the Wissington sugar
factory. More than seventy miles of piping carry hot water from the
factory's combined heat and power (CHP) plant to the glasshouse to maintain
the balmy temperatures which suit tomato plants. This hot water would
otherwise be destined for cooling towers, so the scheme ensures that the
heat is used productively.

A major benefit is the productive use of waste carbon dioxide. Tomatoes use
a large volume of the gas in photosynthesis so at Cornerways, carbon dioxide
produced as a by-product from the CHP boiler is now pumped into the enormous
glasshouse rather than vented to the atmosphere as waste emissions. Water
used primarily to wash the sugar beet delivered to the factory carries vital
nutrients from Norfolk's soils and is re-used to irrigate the tomato plants.