Anyone that has eaten a farm-fresh tomato knows that it cannot be compared to it ethylene gas-ripened distant cousin (although I would even stretch to say the relation is closer to a twice-removed great uncle). A fresh tomato has life and flavor. You can bite into a farm-fresh tomato like a peach and feel the seeds and juices dribble down your chin. You don’t need anything to dress it up. This is prime tomato season in Atlanta. We talked with local Georgia farmers to find out eight facts about this season’s crop.
1. The Harvest
Our tomato harvest is significantly better this year thanks to the warm and drier weather we have experienced compared to the soggy, cool weather last year.
-Joe Winfrey of Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens
The tomatoes did come in a little later this year but we are having much higher yields because we did not have all the rain we had last year, which led to lots of disease pressure.
2. The Season
Right now is the best time to buy tomatoes at your local farmers market. Ours have been peaking for about a week or two now, and may continue for a short time longer. There will be more tomatoes to come, but the volume and quality (in my fields, at least) are great right now!
3. The Yields
We grow around 350 plants and expect to yield over 1,000 pounds.
4. Heirloom and Hybrid Varieties
We harvest a handful of heirloom and hybrid varieties to get a good mix of looks and flavors for market consumers.
Heirlooms: Brandywine, Green Zebra, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, Striped German, Amish Paste, and Rose tomatoes
Hybrids: Pink Beauty, Big Beef, Orange Blossom, Sungold Cherry, White Cherry, Blush, and Rutgers
5. A Labor of Love
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
For those that have not grown tomatoes, it is hard to have an awareness of the number of days it takes to raise a tomato plant from seeds and the countless labor hours. Our tomatoes are harvested weekly and treated like tender infants, stacked in a single or double layer, and poured over to ensure that only the best ones go to market
-Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens
6. Store Them
I suggest to our customers to just store them in a single layer on the counter. Putting tomatoes in the fridge results in a mealy texture.
-Woodland Gardens
7. Limited Time Offer
We just planted our last succession of tomatoes a short time ago so we will have tomatoes until the first real frost hits us, which can range anywhere from October to December.
8. Eat Them
For the larger heirloom varieties I like to just serve them alone in big slices on a plate, with a little salt, pepper and olive oil on top. Romas are the best for sauces.
-Woodland Gardens
Find your Farm-Fresh Tomatoes
Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens: A certified organic farm. Find cherry tomatoes on the menu of Chai Pani and at Eat Me, Speak Me or sign up for their CSA,
Woodland Gardens: Freedom Farmers Market, Bacchanalia, Woodfire Grill, Five and Ten, The National and many other Atlanta/Athens restaurants.
Cosmos Organic Farm : Decatur Farmers Market, Grant Park Farmer Market, and East Atlanta Village Farmers Market
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