For Friendly Farm’s David Braverman, growing tomatoes is a lifetime labor of love.
“I grew up growing heirloom tomatoes, actually,” the Iowa City farmer said. “As far as I recall, we have sold some kind of tomatoes my whole life.”
Braverman’s father started the farm in the late 1960s, and though David didn’t always expect to take over one day, he found himself returning to the 20-acre plot after college. Since his father’s passing in 2011 he’s been running Friendly Farm on his own, using organic methods to grow a variety of vegetables and flowers for wholesale and restaurants.
Tomatoes have always been the primary crop. In any given year, David plants upwards of 50 distinct tomato varieties. He has over 20 varieties of cherry tomatoes alone, those sold through the Field to Family Food Hub. 
Though he has about 3,200 tomato plants in the ground this season, he cares for each variety with different methods to maximize each individual plant’s yield: pruning some but not others, stringing some up but not all, keeping some in a greenhouse and some outdoors.
He doesn’t mind the extra work this precision creates. He loves taking care of plants and learning about what makes them unique. The smell of tomato leaves is an added bonus.
“If I ever quit, that’s something I’d always remember,” he said.
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view of policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.