Growing a Business One Tomato at a Time

Growing a Business One Tomato at a Time

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In spite of the faltering economy and rising food prices, there’s still big demand in Chicago for organically grown vegetables. At least that’s the experience of farmers Todd and Julia McDonald. It’s their second growing season and they often sell-out of their vegetables at the two Chicago farmer’s markets they attend.

As part of our series Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Chicago Public Radio’s Adriene Hill has been following the McDonalds through the season. Today we find out how Chicago’s farmers’ markets have gone for them.


Back in the spring, these fields were much quieter. But on this warm late-September day, the trills and chirps of grasshoppers and crickets fill the air. Buttlerflies and moths flit around beds of chard and kale. Creepy-crawlies are everywhere, including some arch-enemies of farmers. While Julia and I are talking about plans for the fall Todd plucks an enormous green caterpillar-like-creature from a pretty scraggly—chewed-up  tomato plant.

HILL: What is that?
TODD: This is a tomato hornworm.
HILL: Is that terrible?
TODD: Yes. These are really, these are lions of the insect world. This is what they do. If this guy lives another day there won’t be much left of this tomato plant.
HILL: And he’s squirting green stuff at you?
TODD: Well, that is because I’m squeezing him very hard. And I’m sorry, but his life is going to have to end…under my boot here. Because they do a lot of damage as you can see.

15 or 20 tomato hornworms met similar fates this year at the farm. Todd thinks some crickets…and there are thousands of crickets around…took out some seedlings.  Most of their bug problems have been limited.

The weather dealt them a blow back in the spring, when a hailstorm damaged their broccoli crop and destroyed a lot of their arugula and spinach plantings. That was frustrating and sobering for the new farmers. But otherwise, mother nature has cooperated.

TODD: It’s been a decent year. We’ve had our dramas. But it hasn’t been super hot, and generally we’ve had the right amount of rainfall except for August. So I would say it’s been pretty good.

The good weather means abundant crops which mean robust farmers markets. Twice a week, Todd and Julia pack their pickup truck with vegetable filled coolers and make the 50 plus mile trek into Chicago. They sell at two different markets—one on Sunday and one on Tuesday.

Their booth is covered with a bright blue tarp and has colorful, hand-painted signs advertising that their vegetables are pesticide free. At the Lincoln Square market their small space is tucked in next to larger vendors.

JULIA: At this market we sometimes get swallowed up by the other booths a bit. And sometimes our customers will come up and say where were you last week. And we’re here…all the time.

But for the most part, the markets are treating them well. Some people try to haggle for a better deal on tomatoes. And a few people want to know why Todd and Julia’s vegetables cost more—so Julia came up with a flyer to explain why it’s more expensive to grow the way they do. Most people are happy to pay the price.

JULIA: These are a dollar fifty each, the green tomatoes. How much…give me all of them…

And they usually sell out of their veggies…. sometimes pretty quickly.

JULIA: We have a great time. We have a lot of people that like to see us. At this market we’re the only ones growing organically. And people really appreciate that and they make sure they tell us that. So we always walk away from the market feeling good about ourselves.

They also walk away with a fistful of cash—enough to cover gas, and farm costs.  It’s not nearly enough to cover all their living expenses. Julia still works and Todd has plans to go back to work when the season ends.

But they make more than they might in other markets—outside of Chicago. That’s the reason many farmers spend the money and tolerate the hassle of coming into the city. Sheri Doyle is the city’s Farm Forager. Her job is to find farmers who are ready to sell their goods at Chicago’s two-dozen city markets.

DOYLE: It has to do mostly with pure population density, the number of people shopping. And then of course also you can charge more. City people are used to paying higher prices. It is the draw. It is the reason to come sell in Chicago.

She says there’s no shortage of demand for farmers and farmers markets but it can be a challenge for Doyle to find farmers.

DOYLE: I was a little naïve about what it would take. The reason it’s difficult is that it takes a specific type of farmer to sell at a farmers market.
It’s not that the produce isn’t out there, especially in the Midwest.

She says there are draws for farmers beyond the economic one. Farmers can make important connections at markets—with each other and their customers. It’s personal connection that will keep Todd and Julia coming back to Chicago’s markets. The bustle of the city is a far cry from the isolation of their farm life in Manteno.

JULIA: We’ll probably always have one market. That’s something we enjoy. It’s a way of keeping us connected with people.

They are hoping to one day have a farm business model that’s centered on people paying for a share of the farm’s production in advance. But they’re going to start slowly—selling about 15 shares for next season. For now, they say the markets are a little more forgiving of failed crops or limited supply. The markets let them get their footing—as they continue to grow.

I’m Adriene Hill, Chicago Public Radio.