Not even during that first frantic summer of growing, weeding, picking, and hawking tomatoes. Not even when he was waking at 4:30 in the morning to tend his flock of seedlings. What he didn’t realize immediately was that he would become obsessed, not even when three thousand tomato plants sprouted in the questionable environment of his makeshift green house. “From these scraps, I saw in a flash of insight, I could construct a seed germination rack.” Already growing tomatoes and a few vegetables back on the farm, Stark knew something of what it takes to nurture seedlings into mature plants. Stark’s story begins with the serendipitous discovery of discarded pipes and boards in a trash bin.

Another explanation might be that it was Stark’s destiny to fulfill the promise of his family’s Eckerton Hill farm in Pennsylvania by connecting to his inner Tomato Person. How does a government consultant living in Brooklyn become a world famous gardening guru? In the case of Tim Stark, it was an accidental metamorphosis, or so claims the title of his quirky, captivating memoir Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer. Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer You can find their variety of fruits and vegetables from wild arugula to grenada seasoning peppers to costata romanesco zucchini at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City.Book review: Tim Stark's *Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer* Their focus is on raising a diversity of produce and optimizing the nutrient composition of their soil so that they can provide flavorful foods to you for years to come. They grow over 200 varieties of fruits and vegetables and they are best known for their more than 100 varieties of juicy heirloom tomatoes and fiery peppers of every shape and hue.

Today, the farm sits on 70 hillside acres overlooking the fertile Oley Valley of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Chefs from all around the city call these farmers the tomato people because they specialize in heirloom tomatoes and chiles from around the world.Įckerton Hill Farm has its origins on the rooftop of a Brooklyn brownstone, where owner Tim Stark started his first tomato seedlings nineteen years ago. This week's surprise is mixed cherry tomatoes from Eckerton Hill Farm.

Heirloom by Tim Stark