Tomatoes and Tasty Products

For me, a homegrown tomato is the pinnacle of summer – supremely tasty, available any time, and the fruits of my efforts. I bet you wish you thought the same way about your latest products – loved by customers, demanded constantly, and the result of your hard work. Maybe you have this perfect situation or … maybe not.

If we look at tomato growing, we can learn a bit about bringing tasty products to the market.

Earth – Staring with deep, rich earth is clearly the best approach. Adding some fertilizer is also helpful. Basing your new products on a sizeable market with pressing needs is a key foundation. Without this you will have poor yields

Water – Keeping the soil moist definitely hastens the march towards perfect red globes. As you develop your product, it is important to continuously add new information from the marketplace regarding the changes in customers’ situations.

Prune – Occasionally errant shoots need to be hacked back. They would only take energy away from the plant and slow the growth of the fruit (I know – but it’s still a vegetable in my mind.) Activities and efforts that are not directly aimed at the goal should be stopped. Yes it’s great to be able to satisfy “all” the customers, but it’s never possible. Be selective and ruthless about wasted efforts.

Squash the bugs – The most destructive thing I have ever seen is the tomato hornworm. Undeterred they can reduce a 6 foot plant into scrawny stems in a few days. Similarly you need to fight the growing threats – new competitive products, changes in spending habits, aggressive price wars.

Weather – Sometimes bad things happen to good plants. Two years ago, late blight (phytophthora infestans for inquiring minds) wiped out all tomatoes within a hundred miles. The debt “crisis,” industry consolidation, and decreased funding are all hard to battle. All you can do is trim your goals and re-evaluate what you expect to accomplish – not easy, but doable.

So if the weather has been sunny, you watered your plants and kept the pests contained, you are now enjoying the bounty of summer. With focused efforts and a little luck from the environment, you too can be enjoying the fruits of your labor – tasty products that customers can’t get enough of.

ps. that tomato in the corner was indeed very tasty…