Tomato stand-alone or multiple-bay greenhouses is on the increase, providing fruit during those times of the year when field-grown fruit is not readily available. Smaller sized fruit (cherry and grape), or cluster tomatoes (fruit-on-the-vine) are the fruit of choice for the large commercial greenhouse operators while the beefsteak varieties are the choice of owner-operator growers. Hydroponic technique is often used in hostile growing environments, as well as high-density plantings. To facilitate transportation and storage, tomatoes are often picked unripe (green) and ripened in storage with ethylene. Unripe tomatoes are firm. As they ripen they soften until reaching the ripe state where
National Fruit Collection in case one is lost. National Fruit Collection The United Kingdom's National Fruit Collection is one of the largest collections of fruit trees and plants in the world. Over 2,040 varieties of apple, 502 of pear, 350 of plum, 322 of cherry and smaller collections of bush fruits, nuts and grapes are grown, in of orchards. It has been curated and maintained at Brogdale Farm, Brogdale, Kent since 1952 and is owned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The University of Reading took over day-to-day maintenance of the collection in 2008. The collection includes two trees