Freshness comes from the distance you are away from the grown food source – not the ability to preserve, store and transport the food from growing area to the packing facility to market. The Slow Food group recommends that you eat food grown within 80 kilometers from home. Remember the 15 meters it was from the kitchen table to Grandma's garden? Paradise Hill Farm is located 70 kilometers south of Calgary in Nanton. 95% of our tomatoes and basil are sold exclusively in Calgary Co-op stores – the rest from our greenhouse on-farm store in Nanton and The Hive locations. Paradise Hill Farm Market Fresh tomatoes and basil are picked when they are fully ripened and matured, then delivered by the very next day to your local Calgary Co-op store. Now that’s Fresh!
Paradise Hill Farm starts the quality process from the time the plants arrive in January and continues this through until the plants are removed in December. We keep our facility very clean and handle the tomatoes, basil, and all other veggies with the utmost of care so that the quality is the same from our greenhouse door to each Calgary Co-op store or our farm store and The Hive locations. Paradise Hill Farm Market Fresh tomatoes and basil have always been grown using biological controls in the greenhouse during the crop cycle. An example of this would be using things like natural predator insects to eliminate any harmful insects rather than applying chemical pesticides.
We also participate in the Canadian Horticultural Council compliant On Farm Food Safety Program that is independently audited and also each term by Canada GAP Food Safety auditors. This process ensures our customers of the cleanliness and safety of our growing, picking, packing, handling, and delivery systems. Finally, we personally deliver in insulated temperature controlled delivery trucks that get Paradise Hill Farm Market Fresh tomatoes and basil to the Calgary Co-op produce departments with extra pampered care - within 24 hours of being picked.
Do you remember where the best tasting tomatoes or basil you ever ate came from? More than likely it was just picked off a plant from the garden under some beautiful blue sky and maybe that garden was at Grandma's. At Paradise Hill Farm we try to duplicate that scenario as close as we can. We pick our tomatoes and harvest our basil when they have been naturally ripened on the plant or fully matured under the clear southern Alberta skies. Then we get them to your local Calgary Co-op produce department directly. As for Grandma, well she and Grandpa have helped grow the business and Grandma still takes many photos as we continue to grow.