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PureHarvest · July 25, 2016

Appreciate this thread. Already looking for next year myself.
I have a potential buyer for next year that can move the volume I want to grow (I need to move at least 40 single layer boxes per week to achieve my monetary goals).
Therefore, grading and packing them by size and having uniformity will be very important. I can't just dump a bunch of different sizes and shapes into the box to be able to work with the buyer.
I am waiting on word back for color variety as well as the size.
A current chef I sell to only wants fruit that would probably weigh around 9-12 ounces. Roughly between a baseball and a softball in size. They slice them for sandwiches and were scared by the size of the delicious. Not sure about the new buyer. I know he supplies 20 something restaurants weekly in NYC. Will find out soon if that is the same for him.
I assume I will grow a red, pink, orange/yellow, and something striped. Not sure if purple/cherokee purple will be required, as they are well known.
I will update when I hear back and value your opinions.
Catfacing, fused fruit, and stinkbugs absolutely killed my marketable fruit this year (maybe a 50% loss).
I can solve the stinkbugs with screening.
Hope to solve the catfacing with variety selection along with having endwalls and roll up sides on my tunnels next year to keep things warmer early on.
Also, my produce stand buyer only wants non-red heirlooms, so that also made it tough to move the large reds.
All good though, this was an experimental year to figure these things out. I didn't quit my day job and did not make a huge jump in number of plants from 2015.
Next year will be a major step, and I am glad to have taken some lumps now, instead of next year when there is more on the line.
Thanks to all TVers that have helped along the way.

July 25, 2016	#12
PureHarvest Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b Posts: 1,369	Appreciate this thread. Already looking for next year myself. I have a potential buyer for next year that can move the volume I want to grow (I need to move at least 40 single layer boxes per week to achieve my monetary goals). Therefore, grading and packing them by size and having uniformity will be very important. I can't just dump a bunch of different sizes and shapes into the box to be able to work with the buyer. I am waiting on word back for color variety as well as the size. A current chef I sell to only wants fruit that would probably weigh around 9-12 ounces. Roughly between a baseball and a softball in size. They slice them for sandwiches and were scared by the size of the delicious. Not sure about the new buyer. I know he supplies 20 something restaurants weekly in NYC. Will find out soon if that is the same for him. I assume I will grow a red, pink, orange/yellow, and something striped. Not sure if purple/cherokee purple will be required, as they are well known. I will update when I hear back and value your opinions. Catfacing, fused fruit, and stinkbugs absolutely killed my marketable fruit this year (maybe a 50% loss). I can solve the stinkbugs with screening. Hope to solve the catfacing with variety selection along with having endwalls and roll up sides on my tunnels next year to keep things warmer early on. Also, my produce stand buyer only wants non-red heirlooms, so that also made it tough to move the large reds. All good though, this was an experimental year to figure these things out. I didn't quit my day job and did not make a huge jump in number of plants from 2015. Next year will be a major step, and I am glad to have taken some lumps now, instead of next year when there is more on the line. Thanks to all TVers that have helped along the way. Last edited by PureHarvest; July 25, 2016 at 02:10 PM.