“I didn’t care much for school,” he laughed. So, he agreed to help his father at the farm instead of attending high school.


Te farm was contracted to produce tomatoes for Campbell Soup Company and for several years,


Robert, his father, and brother supplied the company with several tons of produce. Tey received recognition for productivity in the 10-ton and 20-ton tomato book, because they grew 20 tons of tomatoes for Campbell Soup Company in one year from just their little piece of Lancaster County farmland.


Te year after Campbell Soup Company moved and the contracts expired, it was too dry for tomatoes. Robert, who is particularly inventive, attempted to irrigate the tomato plants using the Brandywine Spring in their house’s basement but the spring dried up. Te family had the Pequea Creek running through their property, so Robert bulldozed the bank and the creek refilled the spring, but unfortunately, it was too late to salvage the tomato plants.


“I farmed for one more year,” Robert said. “And I got 60 tons to that one acre. I sold the 60 tons but it didn’t pay much. I wish Campbell Soup Company would have been there, because they paid a lot more!”


Tending to the tomato plants has not only been a source of JOY for Robert, but also for the others at Welsh Mountain Homes who witness his passion and are the recipients of some of his delicious tomatoes.


Tough he stopped farming, his passion for growing tomatoes has continued throughout his life. He was even able to lend a hand to some local Amish farmers who were frustrated by their under- producing tomato plants.


“Tey were using cow manure for fertilizer, but that has a lot of nitrogen in it, which makes great big stalks but with no fruit,” Robert said. “My advice was to stop. Don’t put anything with nitrogen on tomatoes.”


And Robert is still problem-solving at Welsh Mountain Home, even with his own four tomato plants. Disappointingly, deer ate his whole garden last year. So, after discussing the problem with his brother, his brother suggested purchasing a device with a blinking light and noisemaker to drive deer away.


Robert made the purchase, installed the device, and has not experienced any issues with deer since then.


Tending to the tomato plants has not only been a source of joy for Robert, but also for the others at Welsh Mountain Homes who witness his passion and are the recipients of some of his delicious tomatoes. His stewardship of the land and his resources has been a lasting theme throughout his life, and one he gets to share with so many others as he teaches them about the sweet simplicity of homegrown tomatoes.


Landis.org | FLOURISH | Fall 2021 • 23


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