ARE TOMATOES PROFITABLE???

[@theindoorgardener9689]

I'm writing this down for my own benefit: 350 plants, planted 2 feet apart, yielded 9000 lbs of tomatoes. Which works out to 26 pounds per plant. Priced between $3.75-$2.75 until July. Then $3 for "#1s". $41k gross revenue. For just one product .

[@boobyjoe5769]

Wow, that's lots of tomatoes! I love seeing young farmers in the industry

[@farmerdre1]

Thanks !

[@stropefarmsllc7630]

Very good advice you can grow all you want but if you can't sell it it's not going to work a lot of farming isn't farming its marketing keep up the good work bud

[@markdraeger4721]

Man i am really sorry about your father i feel ya my father left to be with his father in January but your ok you sound ok thats good!! Life must go on!!! Glad you are doin some videos!!! Keep your head up!!!

[@LtColDaddy71]

I have a grant high tunnel also. Didn’t know it was possible to keep applying. We put up some useful hoop houses though.

[@mistyfinley5615]

How do you apply for the grant ?

[@farmerdre1]

You can apply up to 10 years

[@farmerdre1]

@@mistyfinley5615 go to your local NRCS office and ask for the high tunnel Equip grant

[@randybussey7596]

@@farmerdre1 I went to my NRCS office and they had no idea what I was talking about.

[@randybussey7596]

Is there a limit to each county how many grants are available?

[@charlotteevans1957]

You give so much good info. Thank you for sharing and guiding us.

[@buddhaboy10]

Hope your back is ok. We all are pulling for you. 👍

[@farmerdre1]

Thanks. I'm already feeling better

[@redangrybird7564]

@@farmerdre1 I used to be a semi commercial beekeeper and there is saying that the most important asset of a beekeeper is his back, and yes, you need a healthy back to lift boxes of bees, combs and honey all day. Take care.

[@gopalkshetry4320]

It is great. Keep continue to produce more and more! US imports more than 3 billion dollars of Tomata per year.

[@peterchapman753]

Keep up the good work. You will get there just have faith mate and Look after your back call on your mates to help out. When does your weather start to turn cold?.

[@farmerdre1]

Now we are getting our first frost soon

[@sydneykasmar]

You did real well this year with only one tunnel producing a good crop! Will you be planting starts in December again - really enjoyed following the whole growing process. Thanks.

[@farmerdre1]

Thanks! Yes we plant tomatoes middle of dec

[@boobyjoe5769]

I hope your back gets better! Back pain is the worst

[@farmerdre1]

I know!

[@radugradinariu9667]

Farmer Dre the tomato KING 👑

[@farmerdre1]

Yes!

[@dehavenfamilyfarm]

Good info. Have you ever sold produce at a produce auction? There is a large produce auction about 2 hours from us, and because people from New York, New Jersey, Philly, etc. buy there, the auction prices there are what our retail prices are in my area (we live in an area with a lower population).

[@farmerdre1]

No, in our area auction house sell too cheap. They go anything from .50 to 2 a lb

[@bcl3341]

Is that where guys go to unload for the season if they've got too much to sell reasonably quickly to other more lucrative outlets? Seems like a guy wouldn't dump his haul there unless that's the only place within reasonable distance where they could unload him..Geographical disadvantages?

[@susanwaldrep8358]

You are a great tomato farmer.I love your videos full of knowledge.

[@danielherman4588]

What is the name of the black plastic soil covering that you have in the tomato rows? I want to get the same type. Where do you get it from? Thanks!

[@paulwatson7502]

Where do you buy all your tomato 🍅 seeds

[@farmerdre1]

There are many different places. I used Morgan county

[@gopalkshetry4320]

How many plants did you plant?

[@great0789]

Good Job man! Love the vids. If you can get Bell Peppers to over-winter in there... you can make some money too. They will live up to 3 years. IDK what kind of production that they would have... but bet the second year would be better than the first. Perhaps try a single "trial run" row?

[@harppoon23]

How long is your strawberry season?

[@farmerdre1]

4-6 weeks, depending on the weather

[@FriendlyCleaningKC]

How was your experience with the nrcs greenhouse grant? I’m in north east Missouri and am very interested in getting one too

[@scroogemcduck1462]

What size are your high tunnels?

[@farmerdre1]

30x96

[@scroogemcduck1462]

@@farmerdre1 Thanks :)

[@robertcarlos2207]

What are the dimensions of the greenhouse.

[@farmerdre1]

These are 30x96

[@gregandrita2]

What brand of high tunnels did you build?

[@2quick4u84]

Hello from Spain! so when do you transplant the strawberries and when are they ready? thanks

[@harrydale6359]

Where do you get your high tunnels

[@roshanmothilall3387]

Hi from South Africa. Awesome videos Farmer Dre. Im attempting my first crop of open field tomatoes. Are those sheep i see in the background 🤗

[@farmerdre1]

Yes, my dads sheep

[@treasuresofchristtv4844]

Thanks, very reliable information.

[@silverleapers]

Get well soon. Oh and try ONE organic crop in the high tunnel and ONE in a field. Just one. Please

[@farmerdre1]

I've thought about it. I'll see

[@mar1video]

Organic is not that profitable. A lot of work, but nobody wants to pay premium price for the product. And organic is not perfect looking. People are used to perfect looking produce.

[@freepress6665]

Loose weight the back pain will leave , put in automatic watering by scene in the ground , do not let your soil get hard , vermiculite allot

[@farmerdre1]

Thanks

[@mar1video]

I prefer perlite 😉 I hate vermiculite 😡

[@nathanromain8821]

💪🏼 Good video 🇺🇸

[@Cicadetroit2012]

Munca aciasta este frumoasă și Multă. ...

[@lordoffraternity]

Great content

[@rondianderson4402]

What size are your tunnels?

[@rondianderson4402]

Found it down below, 30x96.

[@aseasonoftomatoes1572]

I’m putting in a 39 x 96 NRCS hi tunnel over the winter. Plan on putting in Big Beef, Red Deuce and a few Sungolds Your videos have been a great help. Thanks, Dre!

[@farmerdre1]

Sounds like you have a great plan!

[@genequeen3000]

I love sungolds, but have had a hard time selling them. Heirlooms cherkee purple and pinks such as june pink and german johnson sell really well here in NC. Big Beef is a good field variety and is very disease resitant. Mt. Glory , Mt. Spring are determinates good for high tunnel very good yields and only get about 3.5 to 4 foot tall

[@aseasonoftomatoes1572]

Gene i understand. I am going all in and grafting my tomatoes. The family loved Black Crim but can’t sell them at the market. Everyone wants big slicers. Big beef, Big Dena and Red Deuce will be my go tos. Sungold just for us

[@nickrichards8516]

How the heck are your greenhouses not 120degrees plus? I see no exhaust fans/intake louvers

[@dedpoptart]

Notice the side roll downs. They provide massive fae during the day. My green houses are similar design and unless night time Temps drop below 60 I generally leave them open. Even in the middle of summer with no fans I run at most 5°over ambient

[@raymondomo4118]

How do you manage your fungi disease?

[@yoopermann7942]

a store that shall remain nameless has gotten people around here so used to cheap food that the residents wont pay a living wage for farmers to make a living!

[@mistyfinley5615]

So if you were starting fresh and did not have a high tunnel. What would you do ? What kind of tomato would you plant for the best results ?

[@biosyncfarm]

Determinate tomatoes are great. do a mixture of Rutgers-style slicers for your area, and cherry tomatoes like sungold, sakura, or mountain magic. Don't know where you live, but if you live in an area where tomatoes are do well, those varieties are always extremely high producers and high flavor

[@sosmom2227]

👍❤️💯🍅!!!!!!

[@farmerdre1]

👍

[@jerrywaters4814]

There's always an explosive market for tomatoes.

[@biosyncfarm]

I'll bet those "red deuce" fakes were probably f2 seeds. arent red deuce supposed to be f1?

[@norfolk1936]

You can command over $3/lb, are you kidding? Never seen tomatoes over $2/lb at any grocery stores....... I am happy if I can get $0.5/lb wholesale.....