As lightning would strike at Dr. Frankenstien’s laboratory, so too would a purple light emanate from a greenhouse in the pursuit of creating the world’s most flavourful strawberry.
On Sept. 29 many in Metro Vancouver took to social media to share photos of the colorful phenomenon. Many correctly pointed out the light likely came from a greenhouse, but why hadn’t it been seen before then? It turns out the purple glow came from the Solstice Greenhouse in Delta, where agronomists and growers were harnessing the new “Juliet” strawberry.
Colin Chapdelaine, President of BC Hot House, the company that oversees Solstice, isn’t an agronomist but says he has an idea of what happened.
“The berries are just so tasty that their flavour aura burst through the canopy in our greenhouse facility and shone a beacon of deliciousness to the lower mainland,” he said in a recent release.
“These are moments those of us in the produce industry dream about. It’s just a shame that I proposed to my wife many years ago – if we weren’t already married, Wednesday night would have been a truly romantic time to pop the question,” Chapdelaine continued.
All kidding aside, the company recognized how light pollution can be a source of significant frustration and inconvenience. The incident was caused by a missed step at the greenhouse when the light abatement curtains which prevent light from the LED lamps escaping weren’t put in place.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this incident. Additional procedural steps have been added to ensure this never happens again,” the company stated.
