Early tomato for commercial crop?

[Petal to the Metal]

I'm in SoCal. Which of the tomato plant varieties is an early producer as a commercial crop? Do you think it's possible to grow an acre of tomatoes without using any pesticides? I know there are organic growers out there, but I'm not sure about the degree of difficulty involved.

 

[Pinewood Acres]

Early Girl is a popular variety with high demand that produces in 50 days. Organic farming is almost always tougher than it would be if you used herbicides and pesticides. Tomatoes have a lot of pests, so keep that in mind. Early Girl is supposed to be one of the varieties that is resistant to the most common pests and diseases.

 

[Mayfield]

I would go with the Early Girl variety too. We have always had luck with them. Tomatoes do attract a lot of pests but if you're diligent you could probably be successful without using a pesticide.

 

[Henderson]

Which side of the tomato industry are you looking to enter - fresh market or processing? I guess I'm just wondering what brought this on. What led you to make the jump from flowers to tomatoes? I only ask because I'd hate to see you lose money. Don't tomatoes require a steady supply of water too? You're going to struggle with that as a Californian unless you already have an irrigation system in place.

 

[Petal to the Metal]

Which side of the tomato industry are you looking to enter - fresh market or processing?

Fresh market. I appreciate your concern too. What we've learned in California is that the tomatoes are sweeter when given less water. There's a big market for those here. I already have two buyers who have asked me to grow tomatoes. That's what got me thinking about it.