Hollandia Produce Inc. is an American

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

company based in Carpinteria, California that specializes in the production and

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

marketing of

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

, which it grows in

greenhouses A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These s ...

using

hydroponic Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plan ...

methods. All of its products are sold under its label "Pete's Living Greens". The company was established in 1970 by Art and Magda Overgaag.

Products

The

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

types grown are butter lettuce, known also as bibb lettuce, red butter lettuce, and the three lettuces red oak leaf, lollo bionda and lollo rossa, which are grown, harvested, and sold together in one package. The company also grows

Barbarea verna ''Barbarea verna'' is a biennial herb in the family Brassicaceae. Common names include land cress, American cress, bank cress, black wood cress, Belle Isle cress, Bermuda cress, early yellowrocket, early wintercress, scurvy cress, creasy greens, ...

, also known as Upland Cress and early yellowrocket.

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es,

arugula Arugula (American English) or rocket (Commonwealth English) (''Eruca vesicaria''; syns. ''Eruca sativa'' Mill., ''E. vesicaria'' subsp. ''sativa'' (Miller) Thell., ''Brassica eruca'' L.) is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used a ...

and

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf ve ...

have also been grown.

Hydroponic method

The

method used by the company recycles water, and the company collects rainwater runoff in

retention basin A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater r ...

s to reduce erosion and protect nearby

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. The company claims that its hydroponic

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

production of lettuce conserves from 65 to 84 percent of the water that would be used if the lettuce were field-grown, depending on field conditions, time of year, and other factors.

Distinguishing features

Distinguishing features include the vegetables’ ability to retain freshness for longer than conventionally harvested vegetables resulting from the roots remaining intact at harvest, enabling packaging to promote a micro-environment which extends the life of the plant. Predator insects are used for pest management.

References

{{reflist Food manufacturers of the United States Agriculture companies of the United States Hydroponics Carpinteria, California Companies based in Santa Barbara County, California Food and drink companies established in 1970 Privately held companies based in California 1970 establishments in California