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OK, regarding tomatoes, there is a “hot house” grown method. They’re on massive trellises inside a warehouse sized greenhouse. But they’re not all created equal. How you fertilize them means a world of difference.

Greenhouse tomatoes can suffer from several problems, including temperature extremes, excessive humidity, and lack of pollination .

I’ve had good hot-house grown tomatoes, but most of the time in large supermarkets they’re lousy. And usually the problem goes back again to mass production in a central location, then the tomatoes are shipped out. And in order to survive shipping, they’re picked before ripened, so the skin is tough to resist bruising and abrasions during transit.

There is one variety that has managed to solve the problem somewhat. The Kumato variety. They’re a ruddy brown in appearance. People who expect bright red tomatoes tend to frown upon the brown. But, they’re very tasty. And they slow ripen. I buy a 6-tomato tray from Trader Joe’s and they’ll keep for 2~3 weeks without refrigeration, before mold starts to set in.