It is that time again! The 'fruits of my labor' are ripening and it's time to thank Momma Nature for being cooperative this year. It has been a battle with the wind, but there is only so much we can do! My plants that have snapped and broken - are still growing like normal. Some are severely damaged from some severe storms we had recently, but they are still pumping out tomatoes!

We pick them 2-3 times per week. Organic backyard berries - we love them, neighbors love them, our friends love them, and our friend's chickens love everything that is left! Oh, and about a dozen and a half deer every morning too! Almost forgot..😋

We grow 21 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes here. It's our first year at this new property and our first season growing for market. We grade our tomatoes according to these USDA AMS Standards before we sell any of them. Each tomato gets personally inspected by myself and we do not store tomatoes for longer than 3 days. They are picked from the vine according to our customer's specifications and liking - then delivered. Some of our customers prefer overly ripe tomatoes and others prefer a tomato that ripens on the counter for them to marvel at. It can be quite a show!

The Pineapple heirloom tomato ripens a uniquely yellow/orange streaked tomato. The color actually carries all the way through the tomato! They are fun to grow and average 1 lb. or more in good conditions. A variety that requires 'industrial strength' support, however. We have had these snap 1/2" Bamboo stakes into 2 & 3 pieces from the weight of these heavyweight plants. We now use rebar (concrete reinforcements) to hold them up!

Snapped with iPhone this morning. These are some 'ding & dent' specials {image below} - Some people seek out the oddest, most misshapen tomatoes and swear they taste better. We eat all the tomatoes we want; mostly ones that don't make grade, but are good enough for us! We donate LOTS of them, eat LOTS of them, and are selling LOTS of them. It's a beautiful venture, but it comes with its share of problems to solve. Many of you have already skipped right over this once you saw those gorgeous fruits, so I'll just let the eye-candy tell its own story..