MORGAN BROWNING photos by
photos by MORGAN BROWNING
After years of working together on a tomato farm, the Kurlbaum family has found themselves both successful and closer than ever
A
top the supposedly highest point in Kansas City, Kansas, junior Eli Kurlbaum crouches down on the hay and reaches through a thin wire cage to grab an heirloom tomato. He throws it in his crate and scoots down to the next plant to snag another. He glances over at the row next to him and sees two of his brothers, Noah and Max, and his mom, Liz also hard at work. They’ve been here all morning, and in the midst of the sticky July heat, nothing sounds better than an ice water. But then a huge rotten tomato slams into his back – squishy, heavy and disgusting. Eli whips around to find the culprit and discovers freshman Noah smirking. But not for long, as Eli retaliates with an even juicier rotten tomato. Moments like these are the ones that Eli looks forward to every other day in the summer, the days he spends his mornings picking and afternoons delivering. The ones that, through all their hard work and commitment, make the Kurlbaum family both successful and complete. The family has been growing heirloom tomatoes since 1987 — the first ones to grow this type in KC — starting with only 50 tomato plants. Now, they’ve worked their way up to 3,000 plants and other crops such as corn, cabbage, beets and plenty of flowers. Since both Eli’s parents, Sky and Liz, grew up surrounded by farming, they are aware of the hard work it encompasses. But when the whole family is involved, it’s no longer a painful chore. “I know we could never do this [without each other],” Liz said. “My skill alone wouldn’t be enough to run the business, [Sky’s] skill alone [or] my sister’s, so together we make a really powerful team.” In addition to his regular job as a lawyer, Sky handles the marketing side and designs and manages their website. Liz is in charge of sales and contacts chefs to see if they’d be interested in purchasing tomatoes. A task she starts soon after Christmas, Liz’s sister Sally researches which tomato varieties to grow by eagerly looking through seed catalogs from Seed Savers Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. Every year, the Kurlbaums grow about 3540 varieties: approximately 8-10 are crowd fa-
5
written by CAROLINE HEITMANN
vorites and 15-20 are tested by the family to see if they’ll be the next new craving. The team mentality carries out through the tomato growing process. First, Sky starts germinating the seeds in a few trays under an artificial light in the basement, keeping an eye on them until they grow to about two inches tall, large enough to transplant to the farm greenhouse. Then Liz, Sally and the children take over getting them in the ground. Working to get orders out that same day, harvesting the plants is the main part of the operation. They get there at 8 AM, pick until 2 or 3 PM, then deliver before the dinner rush. Typically the Kurlbaums themselves pick the tomatoes, but sometimes an occasional friend comes along for the day. The Kurlbaums dry farm, meaning they don’t water the plants, to order to make their
I cut into them, and I took the first bite. And as a chef, it’s pretty hard to overwhelm me, and I took one bite and I said ‘Oh my god, this is going to be one of the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten.’” About eight years ago, Mirabile started hosting five-course dinners, some with all five courses including tomatoes, which he christened “Experiences.” Last year, Mirabile and the Kurlbaums worked together to extend the events beyond the restaurant and hosted three at the farm. Now people can enjoy gourmet meals with local produce while overlooking scenic pastures and forests. However, there is a downside to raving reviews and high demand – sometimes orders can’t be filled. As a result, the family is considering expanding and growing more plants, requiring the family to put even more hours in, or hire extra help. Another option for expansion is having their tomatoes delivered to doorsteps by ShatAt times there’s disagreements, but since to Milk’s new grocery delivery plan. But a rewe are a family, we steam about it, get cent partnership made with nearby Riverview over it, get back together and respect Nursery ensures stability for now. each other’s differences Riverview Nursery has only about 1,000 to— Liz Kurlbaum mato plants, but farming is all the owners Mike and Krissy Murray do. In years past, the couple tomatoes extra flavorful and not taste too wa- wasn’t able to sell all their crops, so the Kurltery. Instead, rainwater is the tomatoes’ only baums agreed to help them out, bringing that source of water. loving family feel to another farm. Now the But the real key to their success is one char- Kurlbaums buy the Murray’s excess tomatoes, acteristic: heirloom. Heirloom tomatoes aren’t then sell them with their own. hybridized or genetically modified. But it’s not the free food at restaurants or “Hybridized tomatoes are the ones you profits or even fresh produce that makes it all see in Price Chopper or Hen House,” Eli said. worth it after those long, tiring days. It’s the “They’re all red. They’re all the same shape. fact that the Kurlbaums do this together, step The difference is that they don’t bruise very by step, with each other, with their family. easily, and they stay ripe for a long time. Heir“At times there’s disagreements, but since loom tomatoes are more fragile, but they also we are a family, we steam about it, get over it, taste better.” get back together and respect each other’s difIt’s that taste that keeps chefs and custom- ferences,” Liz said. ers coming back for more; local restaurants, including Capital Grille, Extra Virgin and Brio feature Kurlbaum tomatoes in their dishes. Scan using One of the first chefs who tried the heirlooms was Jasper Mirabile, owner of Jasper’s Restauthe Harbinger rant, and he’s been a devoted follower ever app to visit since. the Kurlbaum “[The first time I saw one] I couldn’t believe website how beautiful they were,” Mirabile said. “Then
ABOVE | Eli Kurlbaum clears out a tall wire contraption, called a cage, after the harvest.
ABOVE | Kurlbaum feeds one of their two horses an heirloom tomato. BELOW | A painting reading “Kurlbaums’ Dry Farmed Heirloom Tomatoes, simply delicious” sits on the Kurlbaums’ mantle.
Over 40 varieties of heirloom tomatoes are harvested each year at the Kurlbaum farm
Deep pink when ripe, usually around 6-8 ounces
Can grow to over one pound, with bright green skin
Very sweet in flavor, can grow up to two pounds
With purple skin, dates back to the Cherokee Native Americans.
After years of working together on a tomato farm, the Kurlbaum family has found themselves both successful and closer than ever
A
top the supposedly highest point in Kansas City, Kansas, junior Eli Kurlbaum crouches down on the hay and reaches through a thin wire cage to grab an heirloom tomato. He throws it in his crate and scoots down to the next plant to snag another. He glances over at the row next to him and sees two of his brothers, Noah and Max, and his mom, Liz also hard at work. They’ve been here all morning, and in the midst of the sticky July heat, nothing sounds better than an ice water. But then a huge rotten tomato slams into his back – squishy, heavy and disgusting. Eli whips around to find the culprit and discovers freshman Noah smirking. But not for long, as Eli retaliates with an even juicier rotten tomato. Moments like these are the ones that Eli looks forward to every other day in the summer, the days he spends his mornings picking and afternoons delivering. The ones that, through all their hard work and commitment, make the Kurlbaum family both successful and complete. The family has been growing heirloom tomatoes since 1987 — the first ones to grow this type in KC — starting with only 50 tomato plants. Now, they’ve worked their way up to 3,000 plants and other crops such as corn, cabbage, beets and plenty of flowers. Since both Eli’s parents, Sky and Liz, grew up surrounded by farming, they are aware of the hard work it encompasses. But when the whole family is involved, it’s no longer a painful chore. “I know we could never do this [without each other],” Liz said. “My skill alone wouldn’t be enough to run the business, [Sky’s] skill alone [or] my sister’s, so together we make a really powerful team.” In addition to his regular job as a lawyer, Sky handles the marketing side and designs and manages their website. Liz is in charge of sales and contacts chefs to see if they’d be interested in purchasing tomatoes. A task she starts soon after Christmas, Liz’s sister Sally researches which tomato varieties to grow by eagerly looking through seed catalogs from Seed Savers Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. Every year, the Kurlbaums grow about 3540 varieties: approximately 8-10 are crowd fa-
5
written by CAROLINE HEITMANN
vorites and 15-20 are tested by the family to see if they’ll be the next new craving. The team mentality carries out through the tomato growing process. First, Sky starts germinating the seeds in a few trays under an artificial light in the basement, keeping an eye on them until they grow to about two inches tall, large enough to transplant to the farm greenhouse. Then Liz, Sally and the children take over getting them in the ground. Working to get orders out that same day, harvesting the plants is the main part of the operation. They get there at 8 AM, pick until 2 or 3 PM, then deliver before the dinner rush. Typically the Kurlbaums themselves pick the tomatoes, but sometimes an occasional friend comes along for the day. The Kurlbaums dry farm, meaning they don’t water the plants, to order to make their
I cut into them, and I took the first bite. And as a chef, it’s pretty hard to overwhelm me, and I took one bite and I said ‘Oh my god, this is going to be one of the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten.’” About eight years ago, Mirabile started hosting five-course dinners, some with all five courses including tomatoes, which he christened “Experiences.” Last year, Mirabile and the Kurlbaums worked together to extend the events beyond the restaurant and hosted three at the farm. Now people can enjoy gourmet meals with local produce while overlooking scenic pastures and forests. However, there is a downside to raving reviews and high demand – sometimes orders can’t be filled. As a result, the family is considering expanding and growing more plants, requiring the family to put even more hours in, or hire extra help. Another option for expansion is having their tomatoes delivered to doorsteps by ShatAt times there’s disagreements, but since to Milk’s new grocery delivery plan. But a rewe are a family, we steam about it, get cent partnership made with nearby Riverview over it, get back together and respect Nursery ensures stability for now. each other’s differences Riverview Nursery has only about 1,000 to— Liz Kurlbaum mato plants, but farming is all the owners Mike and Krissy Murray do. In years past, the couple tomatoes extra flavorful and not taste too wa- wasn’t able to sell all their crops, so the Kurltery. Instead, rainwater is the tomatoes’ only baums agreed to help them out, bringing that source of water. loving family feel to another farm. Now the But the real key to their success is one char- Kurlbaums buy the Murray’s excess tomatoes, acteristic: heirloom. Heirloom tomatoes aren’t then sell them with their own. hybridized or genetically modified. But it’s not the free food at restaurants or “Hybridized tomatoes are the ones you profits or even fresh produce that makes it all see in Price Chopper or Hen House,” Eli said. worth it after those long, tiring days. It’s the “They’re all red. They’re all the same shape. fact that the Kurlbaums do this together, step The difference is that they don’t bruise very by step, with each other, with their family. easily, and they stay ripe for a long time. Heir“At times there’s disagreements, but since loom tomatoes are more fragile, but they also we are a family, we steam about it, get over it, taste better.” get back together and respect each other’s difIt’s that taste that keeps chefs and custom- ferences,” Liz said. ers coming back for more; local restaurants, including Capital Grille, Extra Virgin and Brio feature Kurlbaum tomatoes in their dishes. Scan using One of the first chefs who tried the heirlooms was Jasper Mirabile, owner of Jasper’s Restauthe Harbinger rant, and he’s been a devoted follower ever app to visit since. the Kurlbaum “[The first time I saw one] I couldn’t believe website how beautiful they were,” Mirabile said. “Then
ABOVE | Eli Kurlbaum clears out a tall wire contraption, called a cage, after the harvest.
ABOVE | Kurlbaum feeds one of their two horses an heirloom tomato. BELOW | A painting reading “Kurlbaums’ Dry Farmed Heirloom Tomatoes, simply delicious” sits on the Kurlbaums’ mantle.
Over 40 varieties of heirloom tomatoes are harvested each year at the Kurlbaum farm
Deep pink when ripe, usually around 6-8 ounces
Can grow to over one pound, with bright green skin
Very sweet in flavor, can grow up to two pounds
With purple skin, dates back to the Cherokee Native Americans.
