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Rosewood Greenhouse Produces Delicious Winter Tomatoes for Sale

Tons of Tomatoes – Vast amounts of Rosewood tomatoes are ready for sale from now through springtime. The public can purchase them for $1.50 per pound at Rosewood Gallery and at the Rosewood Administration Building

As a rule, winter tomatoes sold in Kansas this time of year don't measure up to their sun-drenched summer counterparts. That's because winter tomatoes typically travel long distances, so they are picked green then gassed to turn a deep uniform red. While that process pleases the eye, it results in a tasteless tomato.

But don't despair. Summertime flavor from a red and ripe tomato is within your reach. Rosewood Services is now harvesting tomatoes from more than 160 plants at its north Washington greenhouse. It offers two varieties, Celebrity and Beefsteak, and sells its tomatoes for $1.50 per pound.

The public can purchase the tomatoes in downtown Great Bend at the Rosewood Furniture Gallery, or at Rosewood's north Washington location. When the new Wine Cellar opens in mid-January, tomatoes will be sold at that downtown location, too.

Growing tomatoes is a daily process for a dozen people with developmental disabilities who are served by Rosewood Services. They plant and care for seedlings, then move the plants to the greenhouse where they regularly apply all-natural products, water, groom and harvest the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are harvested, the clients help move the produce to market, selling to area restaurants and delivering to designated drop-off locations for public selling.

"Growing tomatoes is really a labor of love for our workers," said Rosewood's Jenna Curran, who supervises much of the daily greenhouse process. "For most of our regulars, this is their favorite place to work because it's so peaceful and nurturing. They take ownership in the success of growing and harvesting tomatoes."

Red Glow – Rosewood Services client employee Shawn Adams smiles as she holds up a ripe tomato in the greenhouse, just after picking it from the vine. Adams has been working at the greenhouse since its opening in spring 2010.

"They never tire of working with dirt and seed and helping it grow into something so wholesome," said greenhouse manager Frankie Pelster. "They take pride in every facet of growing and selling tomatoes."