cultivators

The Life of A Tomato: From Farm to Fork

By Jill Melton / Photography By Jenn Davis | August 28, 2018

Between 300-400 tomatoes are delivered to M Street Restaurant group from Corner Springs Farm each week in the summer.

You might say tomatoes are Joel and Marianne Cameron’s livlihood. Sure, they grow lots of other vegetables on their five-acre farm in Portland, Tennessee, but it’s the red gems of summer that keep them in the black. You could say the same about the M Street group of restaurants as well. In the summer, their menus feature seasonal dishes that revolve around the beautiful bounty the Camerons supply. In fact the Camerons supply M Street 300-400 pounds of tomatoes per week.

Joel and Marianne Cameron own Corner Spring Farm. They met Andrew Whitney, Associate Director of Culinary Operations at Richland Park Farmers Market last August. They struck up a conversation and have been working together ever since.

What sets the tomatoes apart at Corner Spring Farm is, yes, the number of varieties, but also the number of heirloom varieties. Several are from Italy, one from Greece and a couple from Tennessee. Tomatoes are not an easy crop. All but two of their varieties are called “indeterminate tomatoes.” According to Marianne, “that means they grow indefinitely and they must be suckered and weaved on a regular basis (once a week during growing season) otherwise they will break and you will not get a good tomato crop.” Joel and Marianne personally do all this themselves. They also “succession plant all their tomatoes.” Meaning they plant them at different times. For this reason, they expect to have tomatoes through February of next year.

Marianne and Joel deliver 300-400 pounds of tomatoes to M Street every week including San Marzanos, Cherokee Purples, and Cherry Drops of every shape, size and color. The chefs anxiously await the delivery, peeking into boxes, smelling and tasting the gems.