ORE THAN 17 years ago, Paul Holmes started Terra Firma Farm with an old VW van and a rototiller, a little more than a mile up the road and 500 feet uphill from its present day location. What began as a farm on less than one acre of land became the Terra Firma Farm of today, which has been growing California Certified Organic Farmers vegetables for over 10 years. CCOF sets the highest organic standard; none of the produce from Terra Firma Farm has been genetically altered.

In 1994, Paul Underhill joined Paul Holmes in an effort to bring together people in San Francisco who were seeking out the freshest, local organic vegetables available. The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project began with 50 people, and now feeds more than 700 people each week.

Now with over 99 acres of fields and orchards, Terra Firma Farm can be found on the fertile soils along Putah Creek, west of Winters, California, and at the edge of the Sacramento Valley. With 30 loyal employees, many of whom have been with Terra Firma for years, this California farm cares as much about people as the quality of their premium organic fresh produce.

With their spiritedly descriptive names and glorious colors, heirloom tomatoes steal the summer produce spotlight. The many varieties, ranging from Purple Cherokee and Golden Jubilee, to Brandywine and Green Zebra, tempt your taste buds and pique your curiosity with their strikingly different colors, textures, sizes and flavors.

To be considered an heirloom tomato, the tomato must have been grown from a seed that has produced the same variety of tomato since at least 1940. Appearing in colors across the spectrum, heirloom tomatoes are prized for their complexity; some are sweet, rich and juicy, while others are refreshingly tart, with a firm texture. The color of an heirloom tomato can help you predict the flavor you're going to savor. White and green tomatoes are more acidic, giving them a tarter taste; dark red and black tomatoes typically have a good balance between sugar and acid; while yellow and orange tomatoes are lowest in acid, resulting in a sweeter flavor. One of the qualities distinguishing heirloom tomatoes from the rest is that an heirloom must be open pollinated in nature. The charming diversity of the heirloom tomatoes at Andronico's deliciously captures the unpredictability of nature, painting a truly pretty picture throughout our produce departments.