--- title: "Tomato" description: "Tomato is the reference crop of Dutch protected horticulture. What the crop asks of a greenhouse, and what separates truss, cherry, cocktail and beef as commercial classes." canonical: "https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/tomato" locale: "en" updated: "2026-08-11" --- # Tomato > Part of: [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · Provider: [DutchGreenhouses](/) Tomato is the reference crop of Dutch protected horticulture, a long-cycle fruiting vegetable grown on substrate and carried on a high wire. Commercial production divides into truss, cherry, cocktail and beef classes, each with its own plant load, harvest rhythm and market, sharing one tomato climate recipe. ## Facts | Property | Value | |---|---| | Scientific name | Solanum lycopersicum taxon | | Crop group | Fruiting vegetable categorical | | Growing system | High-wire substrate categorical | | Cycle | Long cycle categorical | | Commercial classes | 4 classes | Crops # Tomato. The crop the modern glasshouse was built around. Tomato is the reference crop of Dutch protected horticulture, and most of what a modern greenhouse does was worked out on it. Year-round supply, high-wire cultivation, carbon dioxide dosing, screening strategy and recirculating irrigation all matured on tomato before they moved to other crops. A buyer entering tomato is entering the most documented crop in the sector, which means the design questions are well understood and the competition is experienced. ## What the crop needs The plant is a long-cycle, indeterminate fruiting vegetable grown on substrate and carried on a high wire. It is planted once and harvested for most of the year, so the greenhouse is not sized for a peak week but for a continuous rhythm of setting, ripening and picking. Because the crop is in place for so long, the structure and the climate system carry the whole season rather than a short window, and a shortcoming in either compounds across every truss the plant sets. ## What separates the varieties What splits the commercial types is fruit size and how the fruit is sold. Truss tomato is harvested on the vine as a cluster and is the Dutch export standard. Cherry and cocktail are smaller-fruited market classes with their own plant load, harvest labour and quality expectations. Beef is a large-fruited class with a different truss structure entirely. The climate recipe is shared across the whole crop, but plant load, harvest interval and handling differ enough that the house is specified for the type rather than for tomato in general. DutchGreenhouses® specifies the structure, climate control, screening and irrigation together around the tomato type, its market and the local climate, so the envelope suits the fruit being sold rather than tomato in general. Get in touch to plan a tomato greenhouse for your market. Tomato ## The varieties ### TOV / truss tomatoes The Dutch export standard, sold on the vine. ### Cherry tomatoes Small fruit, high count, and labour as the deciding cost. ### Cocktail tomatoes Between cherry and truss, and a class in its own right. ### Beef tomatoes The large-fruited slicing class, and the load it puts on a house. ## Grown close, picked ripe Tomato is mostly water, and the rest is the reason it is eaten. Vitamin C, potassium and the carotenoid that gives ripe fruit its colour all sit in that small remainder, and all of them are strongest in fruit that ripened on the plant rather than in a crate. That is where distance starts to matter. Fruit with a long journey ahead is picked before it is ready, because a ripe tomato does not travel. It finishes colouring in transit and arrives looking finished, but the sugars and the acids that were still being laid down when it was cut never arrive at all. The cultivar on the label is the same. The product is not. Growing near the market removes the compromise. A greenhouse close to the people who eat the crop can pick at ripeness and deliver the same week, and it can do that in February as readily as in July, which is the part a field cannot promise. The shorter the distance between the plant and the plate, the less of the crop is spent getting there. ### Nutrition facts Tomato, red, ripe, raw — year round average Per 100 g Energy 18 kcal Fat 0.2 g Carbohydrate 3.89 g Sugars 2.63 g Fiber 1.2 g Protein 0.88 g Sodium 5 mg Potassium 237 mg Vitamin C 13.7 mg Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 170457 From the knowledge base ## Reads you might find interesting ceacultivationbusiness-case ### Grow Like a Pro: Starting Smart, Growing Strong How Grow Like a Pro combines smart farming, CEA technology and local partnerships for eco-friendly, profitable, pesticide-free greenhouse pr Read article education ### The Case for a College Greenhouse Why a college greenhouse belongs in the curriculum: teaching science, craftsmanship, business logic and sustainability, and preparing studen Read article education ### The Case for a High School Greenhouse Why every high school greenhouse matters: how it makes STEM tangible, builds responsibility and teamwork, and helps students discover their Read article education ### Greenhouses in Education: The Case for Schools Greenhouses in education reconnect students to reality — the full case for why every school, high school, college and trade program should h Read article historyconstruction ### The Origins of Greenhouse Horticulture: My Backyard A tour through greenhouse horticulture history: from 19th-century Westland fruit walls to the “City of Glass” and today’s international high Read article company ### DutchGreenhouses Rebranded: A New Corporate Identity Announcing our new corporate identity — a visual style reflecting our dedication to advanced, high-quality greenhouse projects and The Futur Read article ## FAQ **Why is tomato called the reference crop of the modern glasshouse?** Most of what a modern greenhouse does was worked out on tomato. Year-round supply, high-wire cultivation, carbon dioxide dosing, screening strategy and recirculating irrigation all matured on tomato before they moved to other crops. **What separates the commercial tomato types?** Fruit size and how the fruit is sold. Truss is harvested on the vine as a cluster, cherry and cocktail are smaller-fruited market classes, and beef is the large slicing fruit. Plant load, harvest rhythm and handling differ between them. **Is one greenhouse design right for every tomato type?** The climate envelope is shared by all tomato types, but the house is specified for the type being grown. Internal transport, packing capacity and crop support differ enough between the types that the choice belongs in the brief before the house is designed. ## Related [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · [Cucumber](/crops/cucumber.md) · [Sweet pepper](/crops/sweet-pepper.md) · [Hydroponics](/irrigation/hydroponics.md) · [Climate](/climate.md) · [Growlights](/growlights.md) · [TOV / Truss Tomatoes](/crops/tomato/tov-tomato.md) · [Cherry Tomatoes](/crops/tomato/cherry-tomato.md) · [Cocktail Tomatoes](/crops/tomato/cocktail-tomato.md) · [Beef Tomatoes](/crops/tomato/beef-tomato.md) ## See also https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23501 --- Canonical HTML version: https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/tomato