It was an honor for Red Tomato to attend the Ashoka Changemakers event yesterday as a finalist, and even more of an honor to walk away as the winner for Massachusetts. We spent the afternoon and evening with an amazing group of nonprofit folks from all over the northeast, and heard from some seasoned veterans.

Judy Wicks,  founder of White Dog Café, spoke about her vision of real, community-based social change.  She noted there is no such thing as one sustainable business, it can only exist as part of a sustainable system, which requires working together.  She also spoke about her decision to pursue unconventional kinds of growth for her own business—growth in knowledge, community, and fun rather than growth in size and number of locations. Watch for her book, Good Morning, Beautiful Business, for more of her wisdom.

Willy Foote of Root Capital also spoke about the need to constantly look for ways to be part of a larger network of change. He had a great phrase– “pathological collaboration” – for something we do a lot of here at Red Tomato.

Oddly, after meeting and learning about the other 14 finalists, we almost wanted someone else to win.  Not that we don’t appreciate the $5000 and the recognition of our work—we do!  But the inspiring, dedicated work being done on the streets of New York and Boston, in schools, senior centers, and mobile health clinics is all so urgent, and so essential. It feels more like we were each doing our part, rather than competing. We hope to be able to share a video showcasing all of the finalists.

Thanks to Green Mountain Coffee for sponsoring the event and the competition, and HUGE thanks to all of you who voted for Red Tomato online and helped spread our story to a wider network.

Now, off to taste test some of the first tomatoes of the season—everything is early this year!

Ciaran and I traveled to tour our CT peach orchards yesterday afternoon. We are anxious for peach season this year for a couple of reasons: it’s early! Like many of our crops, peaches are one to two weeks early this year.

Second some of our growers are taking on a pilot protocol for Eco Stonefruit (peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines). Between the President’s Cancer Panel and the media coverage of west coast strawberries, we know that pesticide use is on everyone’s mind this summer. So, Red Tomato’s brand new Eco Stonefruit pilot program is an effort to bring the progressive philosophy, based in integrated pest management, of the Eco Apple^TM Program to peaches – a product that is highly susceptible to pesticide exposures and residues.

Our first stop was Lyman Orchards of Middlefield, CT. John Lyman took us through his expansive orchard blocks. One of the first we saw was a young stand that was trained on metal wires and rods. With this system, trees can be planted closer together and branches are trained to grow in such a way that maximizes air flow – reducing problems with moisture and pest pressures. Not to mention, high density planting often results in significantly higher yields. Every orchard we toured was working to implement this system in their new stock.

Another interesting tid bit we gathered from John was that between thinning the blossoms and thinning the fruit, an average harvest is less than 25% of what a tree might naturally produce. Thinning enables peaches to grow larger and keeps the trees well ventilated so that moisture or mold is not a problem.

Next up was Rogers Orchard in Southington, CT. One of the most remarkable details of this orchard, besides their beautiful fruit, is that they celebrated their 200th anniversary last year! No small feat for a family farm. We were also excited to see a large storage facility that was recently constructed – with the added space Rogers may be able to keep fresh harvested apples in storage through the winter.

Lastly, we visited Blue Hill Orchard in Wallingford, CT. Eric Henry of Blue Hills was proud to report that thanks to some help of the Red Tomato food safety program the orchard would be both Good Agricultural Practices (GAP/food safety) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP/processing) certified shortly. Despite the steamy heat, we were sad to leave the beautiful rolling hills and immaculately groomed rows of Blue Hills.  We plan to go back when peaches are slightly less green and ready for the eating – sooner than we think!

I heard the tail end of a piece on NPR this morning about a tomato breeding program in Florida to insert the better qualities of wild-grown tomatoes or even cousins of tomatoes, crossed with high-yielding and resistant varieties of commercial tomatoes. What’s great about this is the attention to flavor. Tomato breeders put flavor low on the priority list several decades ago when the priority shifted to yield, transportability, and size and shape (which can lower the costs of staking, harvesting, etc.)

I’m pretty sure I heard the interviewee say the research will use GMO technology; but check the link and listen for yourself.

In a conversation last week, I heard a passionate farm extension agent in the Northeastern United States share the results of many years of tomato flavor analysis, comparing favorite varieties of commercial tomatoes, heirlooms, and anything new and promising. He said: “It seems the closer a scientist is to the plant breeding process, the less they seem to be focused on flavor qualities.”

That may sound odd at first. But it’s consistent with where the seed industry has traveled since World War II. That’s why we have a resurgence in heirloom varieties. If people keep on buying and planting heirloom varieties, and screaming for better flavor in their store bought tomatoes, it will continue to make a difference. We’ll be seeing combinations of heirlooms, wilds, and more commercial varieties, seeking to produce that tomato with the flavor we love, AND decent enough yields and disease resistance to allow growers to produce them profitably. They’re already available.

Narrated by Ciaran

After Harlow Farm, Michael, Kate and I traveled to Florence Vermont to meet Jeff Jones at Vermont Hydroponics.  His facility is situated in a beautiful valley up in the mountains.

If only our office had a view like this...

The cooler mountain air provides the ideal place to grow Hydroponic green house Tomatoes as it generally does not get too hot, though yesterday it was near 90 degrees. His facility had four greenhouses, one was in full production mode and the Vines were big and all started from seed.

Basil and lettuce starts inthe greenhouse.

Tomatoes on the vine in the greenhouse.

In another were the tomato starters and the beginnings of a lettuce and basil program for them.    The whole facility was so clean and efficient. So what will the future hold for Red Tomato and Vermont Hydroponics hold?  Not sure but as Jeff said the reason he contacted us was he thought a company named Red Tomato might like to be associated with his big red tomatoes.

Narrated by Ciaran

Michael, Kate, and I took a trip to Vermont today to renew an old relationship and perhaps start a new one.  First, was to see Paul Harlow, of Harlow Farms, in Westminster Vermont.

Leaf lettuce field at Harlow Farm.

Paul grows organic romaine hearts for us and last year was not a good year.  There were quality issues with his product and we needed to figure out where they stemmed from.  To help us figure it out, Rich Bonanno from Pleasant Valley Gardens, came up to help.

Team lettuce inspects the fields.

The farmers discussed their post-harvest methods for packing and figured out the best way to minimize quality issues from the growers end.  Also discussed was the need to move towards Good Agricultural Practices or G.A.P. certification, which is an industry standard for food safety.  To help us with that was a rep from Agricultural Consulting Services Inc.  It just so happens that Rich is also a GAP certified grower and trainer so he was an enormous help. Read more about RT’s work with food safety here.

Part 2: Vermont Hydroponics coming tomorrow.

Michael, Tim, and Ciaran are tromping around Dzen Bros. Farm in Ellington, CT at this very moment. Take a look through their eyes!

Almost ripe berries! Donny has been irrigating throught the cold nights to protect the plants and our delicious fruit.

Michael inspects the fields.

Not too late to start thinking about blueberries!

Thanks to Ciaran and his blackberry (phone, not fruit crop) for sending us these pics in real time!

May is when our region’s vegetable growers set their early tomatoes outdoors, often under row cover for protection. Thinking of the optimism most growers automatically exude this time of year, I was jolted back to a presentation I attended last December along with a hundred vegetable growers from the greater Northeast.

It was like a good whodunit.

Corpses were in evidence throughout the East─infected tomatoes (and potatoes) strewn among trash heaps and compost piles and ploughed under. The plant disease Phytophthora infestans, the one active in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, more commonly called late blight, had been on the loose in early summer 2009. At the New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference, University of Maine pest management (and tomato forensics) specialist James Dill told how they tracked the rapidly spreading disease back to several box stores that were selling infected tomato seedlings that were imported from a greenhouse in Alabama. Click here for the presentation.

It’s impossible to resist the overused phrase the perfect storm to describe the wet and cold conditions of June and July 2009, conditions that allowed late blight to move far and fast along the eastern seaboard. This disease is airborne and can move miles in the wind. It was a southern strain of late blight, which is why it kept right on doing business when the dry warmer temperatures of August set in. Other strains of late blight slow down or stop when the temperatures reach the 80s.

For some vegetable growers, it was the worst of times. They lost their entire tomato crop. Oddly enough, I’ve heard other growers, who managed their way through the disease by some combination of close monitoring, added spraying, and luck, say it was actually a very good tomato year.

Go figure.  Go plant tomatoes (actually, wait a couple of weeks).

I grew up watching my grandma can and preserve food.  As a Southerner, I was raised on it, in fact.  During the growing season — which in Georgia was much longer than New England’s – it felt like my Grandma was always preserving something.  There was not a meal where we were not served pickles. We always had a choice of dill or sweet.  There was always a jar of pear relish on the table.  We used this sweet mixture on fresh green beans, and dunked our cornbread in it.  She was always putting food away from what seemed like her acre-sized garden.  It was probably only half an acre when I look back with an adult lens.

I currently have my own garden.  I share it with my partner, Tim, and our kids, Ilana and Aidan. It was not too much of a stretch to think about canning and preserving on my own.   It seemed to be a natural extension of urban farming.  All the intimidating details about proper temperature, hot water baths and sterilization seemed a bit over hyped.  My Grandma did it and she never had a recipe book or set of instructions.   Sadly, my Grandma is no longer around to advise me though the process, but my close friend, Irit, is a willing and very able partner.   My Grandma, Martha, would be proud.  Last summer, Irit and I preserved tomato sauce, beets and green beans.

Joe Maugeri's asparagus getting prepped for canning

We started this growing season with asparagus from Maugeri Farms.  Irit badly wanted to pickle some, but neither one of us grew any of our own.  Thanks to Tim and Red Tomato, we wrangled a case that resulted in 20 jars.

I have found the freshest and simplest ingredients yield the best quality finished product.  I can’t speak to the flavor of the asparagus yet, but I am optimistic.  We used garlic, vinegar and a red hot pepper for a little spice.

Spicy, garlicy asparagus to be enjoyed long after the season is done!

I prefer a less-is-more approach in the kitchen.  I am not one for a ton of tools and fancy pots.   That said, if you have never canned before, there are a few supplies that I would recommend getting.    You need a big pot with a rack that allows you to lower the jars into the hot water bath. You can get these at your local hardware store.   I would also invest in a jar grabber.  I have not found any other way to reach into boiling water to remove the jars.  Most importantly, I would invest in a partner.  I canned 20 jars of pickles on my own, but it was not nearly as much fun as doing it with Irit.  A partner also lets you ask questions like, “if I touch this jar lid with my bare hands will it poison us?”

I have included a link to the recipe we used.  I think we tripled or even quadrupled the ingredients and everything work out perfectly.

Happy canning.

Resources:

Recipe for pickled asparagus.  The University of Georgia does happen to be my alma

mater, but I find their resources on preserving to be some of the best.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/pickled_asparagus.html

And, last but not least, in homage to Martha Brown: a recipe for pear relish for when Red Tomato’s pear growers are in season.

Narrated by Tim’s partner Eliza

Excessively warm Aprils may be good for spirits. But they’re not great for apples. They fool the trees into an early bloom, which can be threatened by freezing nights.

That is exactly what is happening right now.

Snow on apple blossoms at Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall, VT

Homer Dunn called this morning from Alyson’s Apple Orchard in Walpole, NH to say his orchard suffered frost damage last night; it will take some time to assess the severity. Jon Clements from Cold Spring Orchard, the University of Massachusetts apple experiment station in Belchertown, reminds us that it only takes 10% of the blossoms to set a decent crop of fruit. Every year any way, apple growers thin their crop by 80-90% to allow the strongest remaining fruitlets to size up and produce a profitable crop. Larger apples earn higher prices.

Barney Hodges of Sunrise Orchard, Cornwall, VT says he doesn’t start worrying until the temperature dips below 30 degrees. High-twenties is probably okay; mid-twenties can do quite a bit of damage; low-twenties will kill blossoms or young fruit, or it will cause permanent visible damage that will have to be graded out at harvest and packing time.

Tonight looks to be warmer. Fingers crossed.

Give or take…

Yesterday, Michelle Chambers and I went up to see Rich Bonnano of Pleasant Valley Gardens Farm. He was in his usual great mood and took us around his greenhouses, which were full of flowers plants and veggies – all in varying degrees of growth. Rich also showed us his Giant Pumpkin Sprout which he hopes to grow to a 1000 pounds and enter it at the fair. He did point out however that if you are a real working farmer you will never get it to a thousand pounds because you simply don’t have the time to put into it. He told of his friend who sold his farm and went on to grow the winning pumpkin that year.

Anyway, we jumped into the truck and went out to see the fields. First to check out the field he leases across the street where he is growing okra, leeks, mums, and a world crop chipilin. Then off to the field on the mighty Merrimack where he grows the lettuces, rhubarb, romaine hearts, and summer squashes. Rich, as always, is looking forward to a new growing season and has the highest hopes for a good one. At this early point in the season, farmers always go forward as if it’s gonna be the best year ever and wait for nature to change their minds. Oh, and as Rich pointed, out lettuce harvest at Pleasant Valley Gardens always starts on June 13th, always.

View of PVG from Rich's truck.

Narrated by Ciaran Foley.