When it came to growing their tomatoes this year, siblings Ken and Deanna Elliot were ripe for something new.
So, for the first time in the 25-year history of the family farm, they're putting their stake in greenhouses and going lower and lean. With trellises, that is.
The co-owners of Elliot Farm are using the "lower and lean trellis method" and greenhouses on the farm their father started about 25 years ago.
About 200 plants are being grown with this method, a large portion of which are cherry tomatoes, Ken said, noting that if he can control a “wicked unruly” cherry tomato plant, he can control any tomato.
Karen Schwalbe, executive director of Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP), said the lower and lean method isn’t commonly used in the area and it’s usually used on bigger farms. Many farmers trellis tomatoes off the ground to avoid disease and rot, she said, but the lower and lean method is a specialized way of doing that.