4 lbs of Tomatoes per Plant

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Summer Beauties.

Where are you going and how do you grow?

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”16816″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Tomatoes are generally split in two categories based on their market: “Shippers/Packers” & “Fresh Market Tomatoes.” Shippers or Packers are tomatoes that usually are selected for their uniform size, color, shape, and firmness. Color: bright red. Shape: perfect globe. Weight: hefty. Skin: smooth and tough. Taste: doesn’t matter as much. These tomatoes are ideal for rough handling and long hauling and are most grocery store varieties. Then there are Fresh Market Tomatoes, which are what local growers raise. They are generally not uniform in size, shape, or color, and they are more difficult to handle, but they’re not traveling too far and hopefully will be eaten very soon after they’re picked. Taste is a much more important factor for these tomatoes. Tomatoes love the long hot days of Summer and thrive outside in direct sunlight, but you can imagine that with our fickle frost dates, there is a small safe window when a farmer can transfer fragile seedlings outdoors. One option to get a longer season is to grow inside a greenhouse or hoophouse, like in the photo above: tomato plants are packed together tightly and trellised up and protected from the elements. If done correctly, these plants can yield up to 40 lbs of fruit each, but they require significant labor and investment in facility and equipment. You can imagine how expensive it might be to heat up in January or February. The third question (after where to sell and how to grow) is what type. Even for our local, small growers it’s crucial to measure up taste with yield: it’s not a great idea to select a really tasty tomato plant with a poor yield, unless you’re not interested in making any money.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]

A Sensitive Little Flower.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”16817″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]We focus on heirloom varieties. These are the funky green, yellow, red, purple, and brown tomatoes that range in size from 2 lbs per fruit to little dinky tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are often beautiful with amazing colors and beautiful flesh once sliced open, but they often have irregular shapes and cracks. And boy, are they sensitive: sometimes if you just look at them wrong, they break down and start crying with cracks and leaks. Heirloom tomatoes are a nightmare to pack and ship, and few farmers will touch them because of it. We work with one grower in Homerville who will take on all he can grow. David grows lots of heirlooms and he hopes to get about 10 lbs of tomatoes per plant. However, only about 40% of those will be marketed as #1, and sellable as is. #2 tomatoes – those with some damage, spots, etc – are about 40% of the harvest and they go straight to sauce production or chopped up and frozen for winter usage. The remaining 20% are culled and composted because they’re damaged, overripe and not sellable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]

All staked up and ready to party.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”16818″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Here is David’s Farm at the very beginning of tomato season: he can get about 4,000 plants on an acre, planted on raised beds, slid onto stakes and skirted with black plastic to control weeds. Before he can even harvest a single tomato, he has already invested about 300 hours of labor into the transplanting, staking, pruning, cultivating weeds, and fertilizing. Those 4,000 plants produce about 32,000 lbs of tomatoes that will be sold as #1 or #2s. He then has to pick, sort, and pack all of them. Like lightening, we send our trucks down to get the tomatoes and then keep them cool at the warehouse to be redistributed for the routes. When you get to your stop, your Greeter will hand you a paper bag filled with the fruit of the labor: take a moment, open the bag and inhale deeply. That moment, along with your first bite, is why all that effort is worth it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]

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Posted in From the Farm and tagged farming, tomatoes