He also provides us with okra, yellow squash, zucchini, and green beans. Grainger County. That's when the problems started. 'The big stores want a product that's picture perfect and hard as brick — a tomato that's pretty, but has no taste. View on a Map. We have seen this happen in the chain stores that we sell to. It's a classic table tomato packed with flavor, but also somewhat delicate compared to hardier 'shipping' varieties. As we must educate our customers – the chain stores, and other retail markets we service must also educate the consumer who buys the product to take home and eat. Call for additional directions. The total value of approximately 2,000 acres of farms recently listed for sale in Grainger County, Tennessee, is $7 million. High sugar content gives the tomato a bland taste. Except for the family farms in Grainger County and in small agricultural counties in other areas of the United States, the majority of our produce on the grocery store shelves go through this process: produce is grown by corporate farms with thousands of acres and many farmers who funnel their produce through a central location called a packing house, processing plant, or receiver facility. Crops: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beans, Peppers, Onions, Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Peas, Pumpkins … 'I can lose $200,000 worth of tomatoes in 10 minutes in a hailstorm. We feel that this is the safer means of fertilizing our crops. But when Grainger County farmers had to look to chain stores to market their tomatoes, all that changed. The taste that keeps one coming back for more is from the acidic content of the tomato, not the sugar content. Our Farm … They wanted us to grow a tomato that conformed to their specs. The first product has a good chance to be clean because the bath water starts out clean and the equipment starts out clean. Ritter Farms has elected not to grow this genetically modified tomato that tastes like cardboard. Tennessee Homegrown Tomatoes is run by Steve Longmire. Longmire said it was in the early 1980s when Grainger County tomatoes started to achieve widespread recognition and growers like himself started to branch out to other states. Hopefully, the younger generation will slide over to farming and feed the world.'. So when the fruit begins to fly at the Tomatoes Wars at the Grainger County Tomato Festival be glad it wasn't the potato that became the county's number one crop. Hubert Williams Tomato Packers 12248 Lakeshore Dr., Rutledge 865-828-3308 TN (Grainger County) Phone (865) 828-3880 Email Us. Jack Ritter, of Ritter Farms, is a longtime Grainger County tomato producer who agrees that the best way for consumers to know what they're getting is to make a trip to the farm. The last statistics I am aware of indicates that better than 80 percent of the tomatoes consumed in this country are gas-green tomatoes. Grainger County is situated close to Knoxville and is renowned for its tomato crops. Local food doesn't suffer the "jet lag" of produce trucked across the country. We're listed in ASAP's Wholesale Local Food Guide, ASAP's Farm to Business Trade Directory. We grow top-quality produce. People wonder what is happening to honey bees world-wide. According to the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension office, the county has about 70 tomato producers who grow their tomatoes in 600-plus greenhouses and about 500 acres of fields. Location (s): 175 Greelee Road. In reality, it has more to do with the rock outcroppings that dot the rolling hills. (Photo: Adam Lau), Freshly picked tomatoes sit in Hubert Williams Farms' storefront in Rutledge, Tenn. on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. We have people come in from out of state and make special trips to Grainger County to buy locally. Carver said about 70 percent of Grainger County's tomatoes are the 'flavor' variety that's the most perishable. Since then Randle and his brother Mike have been farming with there Dad and they have since quit Tobacco but have continued with produce. We cull a lot of our tomatoes 'cause they crack. These grants turn on in May of each year. We always grow our crops with a minimum of chemicals. 'I never went to day care,' Danny … Gas-green tomatoes have to be from 10 days to 2 weeks old by the time the consumer can purchase them. Stratton Tomato Farm will be having early varieties of ripe tomatoes from the greenhouse on our farm starting in May. TN (Grainger County) Phone 865-828-5690 Major chain stores and produce outlets started demanding that produce, especially tomatoes, be picture-perfect and hard as a brick so it would keep on store shelves 15 to 30 days without decaying. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Clifton Farms Tomatoes locations in Rutledge, TN. The Morgans sell a variety of tomato known as 'Empire' that's commonly grown by Grainger County growers. Sprinkled throughout the landscape were dark-green fields where the early season tomato plants were held up by stakes and twine. 'We grow our greenhouse tomatoes in the soil, and we stick with proven varieties.'. By this time, a week to 10 days has passed before they are shipped to distribution centers and then to chain stores, which makes them close to two weeks old before the consumer can buy them. Phone #'s: (865) 828-8316 Fax: (865) 828-3199. In the county that’s home to the world-famous tomatoes, Red Barn Produce on U.S. Route 11-W in Grainger County serves as a community landmark and destination for fresh produce. R&C Farm Grainger County, Tennessee Randle Pierce is a 2nd generation Farmer and his Dad and his family started farming Tobacco and Tomatoes back in 1960. Grainger County tomatoes have in recent decades become nationally and internationally renowned. Morgan's Farm is located in southern Grainger County, TN. If I grew a hard, shipping tomato with no flavor, I'd be killing the Grainger County name.'. It is the acid of the tomato that gives it a good taste. We mainly focus on tomatoes, but we also grow beans, cucumbers, pepper… Around thirty-thousand festival-goers across the state of Tennessee and the … At first ,they wanted the Grainger County tomato for its name. Tomatoes are the main commodity and these “World Famous Tomatoes” are highlighted annually the last weekend in July at the Grainger County Tomato Festival. Location: Lakeshore Rd 3.5 miles from Hwy 92. A family farm based in Knoxville, TN happy to provide locals with fresh produce. This is not only true with tomatoes, but with other produce items as well. Stores in this area had to have the Grainger County tomato because that's what people in this area wanted to buy. 'If it wasn't for some of the shipping varieties, we'd never have tomatoes year round. 'Locally, consumers know the stores and roadside markets. Hubert Williams. In order to sell them a hard tomato that was perfectly shaped, and had a long shelf life and no blemishes, they would have to sacrifice the very thing that the Grainger County tomato was all about – good taste. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Like many Grainger County tomato producers, Howard Morgan Farms is a family operation. Chain stores, produce markets, and consumers all over this country are free to choose the kind of tomato they want to eat, but as for me and my family, we choose to grow the type of tomato that has a tomato taste, and we choose to grow it in a way that is safe for all those who choose to buy it and eat it. Hubert Williams has provided us with Grainger County tomatoes for over 20 years. (ADAM LAU/NEWS SENTINEL) (Photo: Adam Lau). One reason is the agricultural practices used by the majority of the farmers in Grainger County. John Mixon Farms started like most farms do- with one man and something to sell. For years now, shoppers have purchased tomatoes and other produce for looks rather than taste. One of the things our farmers have been able to boast about is the fact that our product is picked one day and delivered to the grocery store shelf the next day. Thousands of tons daily go through this same water. These companies are a fear factor within themselves because they are developing seeds and varieties of plants that are resistant to different kinds of harsh chemicals, such as insecticides and herbicides that, if an insect such as a honey bee were to pollinate that particular crop and carry the pollen back to its home, it would destroy the entire hive. View our Wholesale Listing. 'I never went to day care,' Danny said. Call or email us! The box should have said greenhouse tomatoes instead. The Morgan tomato farm was started by Howard's father, James, a former zinc miner who switched to full-time farming in the late 1940s. Search for other Fruits & Vegetables-Wholesale in … They'll talk to our produce managers and say, 'I want the very best you have.''. We at Ritter Farms are concerned for our customers, our family, and our employees. 'I played in the tomato fields. For approximately 100 years, Grainger County has been noted for production of a tomato that has the same taste as the tomato you picked in your grandmother's garden. Steve Longmire, of Tennessee Homegrown Tomatoes, had his first field of tomatoes when he was 7 years old. Howard's son, Danny, started helping out when he was 9 years old. "Grainger County tomatoes mean the world to Grainger County and the reason is, we don't have a lot of industry. People have forgotten what a tomato is really supposed to taste like, and young people have never tasted a true “tomato taste.”. Those guidelines include detailed policies regarding production, packing, distribution and handling of fresh tomatoes. Available: Strawberries, Beans, … The County is comprised of three cities Bean Station, Blaine and Rutledge with a population of approximately 25,000. Here, the picturesque country roads are flanked by greenhouses, and, on a recent visit, the tomato farms were in various stages of production. 'Everything we grow is an eating tomato that's soft and meaty. We explained that they were destroying the purpose of having a Grainger County tomato. At Ritter Farms, we try to educate our consumers and especially young people who come to the farm in groups from their schools by letting them know what a garden variety tomato looks like and tastes like. 'You need to find the old growers, the people who stick to traditional farming practices and avoid chemicals,' Ritter said. Ritter and his wife, Nancy, grew Grainger County tomatoes for 45 years and now run a cattle operation. Steve Longmire owns Tennessee Homegrown Tomatoes in Grainger County. PRODUCTS OFFERED. They found varieties that had been engineered to ripen uniformly, be free of growth cracks, be perfectly uniform in shape and size, but in all the varieties, the one thing lacking was a good taste. Today there are over 650 hot houses in the county and 500 acres of field crops of mostly tomatoes which bring in $10 million in sales annually. Zavels Family Farms. Vegetables tomatoes . Howard Morgan said as the market has expanded, he has invested in refrigerated trucks with air-ride suspension that protect his tomatoes over the long haul. Tomatoes with a “just picked out of the garden” taste are not perfect. Grainger County is situated on the Clinch River (impounded by Norris Dam to form Norris Lake) and on the Holston River (including Cherokee Lake). This produce is washed in water baths or sprinkler systems that contain a certain amount of chlorine or some other disinfectant. They grow hundreds of acres of tomatoes and ship farther than we do, but we grow a different product than they do,' he said. I don't get up every day dreading to go to work. Howard's son, Danny, started helping out when he was 9 years old. 'That's the best way to know that the food you're feeding your family is safe.'. In the meantime, consumers are being trained to choose produce by its appearance and not its taste. Anthony Carver, Grainger County agricultural extension agent, said the county's greenhouse tomatoes are grown in the ground without the use of hydroponics. Buying local Flushing foods is a simple way to do all three. Over the years, Grainger County tomatoes have been a tomato that was desired above most other tomatoes because of their rich garden flavor and their homegrown appearance and texture. We have a strong local market, but we also ship to northern groceries.'. A third reason that the Grainger County tomato has been a unique, much desired tomato is that Grainger County farmers have, until recent years, uniformly grown garden type varieties rather than shipping varieties. In a lot of crops, we can almost be considered an organic grower except that we use commercial fertilizers instead of manure. We feel strongly about giving our customers a good tasting tomato. Region: East - Grainger County. Menu & Reservations Make Reservations . 865-828-8365. strattonfarmstn@yahoo.com. 'We use greenhouses to get on the market as early as possible and stay as late as possible,' said Howard Morgan. 'People say the flavor is not there unless the tomato is grown in a field, but our way of producing in greenhouses is fairly unique,' Carver said. There are two levels of funding: 35% and 50% cost-share dollars. I couldn’t have chosen a more challenging day to watch someone pick tomatoes. Growing tomatoes and other garden vegetables in Grainger County. Directions. 'We can ship a medium-grade flavor tomato with some extra shelf life to a restaurant in New Jersey, and when a customer puts that in their mouth, they'll swear it's the best tomato they've ever had,' Carver said. Attention to safe practices is focused on everything from the quality of the soil where the tomatoes are grown, to the cleanliness of the packing facility, to the delivery to the markets. Grainger County tomatoes are known by almost every person within a 250 mile radius and by a great majority of people throughout the United States. Physical Address. Located right here in East Tennessee, Sweetwater Valley Farms is one of the few producers of fine farmstead cheese. Come see us. In order to meet rigorous inspections at distribution centers, farmers have had to give up growing some of the typical garden type varieties because they wouldn't pass an inspection. We even go into our stores and show their customers how to choose the best tasting tomato by looks and feel. We're in a very rural community, a very rural area. 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