Tutti Frutti Farm

Chris Cadwell was born to be a farmer. A descendant of a long line of farmers, he was only 15 years old when he started his first organic garden. In 1988 he founded Tutti Frutti Farm and now has 350 acres of organic heirloom tomatoes, specialty cherry tomatoes, a variety of sweet and hot peppers, zucchini, winter squash and more.

Tutti Frutti is situated in beautiful Santa Barbara wine country near California's Central Coast. The location, climate, and the farm's dedication to long-range sustainability all come together to produce a consistently delicious crop. Cadwell says the farm is in a pinot noir belt, with great conditions for tomatoes. The temperature typically reaches 85-90 degrees, not too hot. Every day around noon, the breeze kicks in, keeping the plants dry, so they experience very little disease. The farm is also surrounded by an extreme wilderness area, providing a natural insectary for predators. They don't use any manure. Instead, they plant cover crops – vetch, oats, peas, bell beans – and flip those right over into the soil, improving it every year as they grow.