Mumsie’s Garden
Owner: Mark Moskal
Where: Pinery Flea Market
Moskal grows heirloom tomatoes on 1/8 acre east of Ailsa Craig. His products are featured at many London boutique restaurants, and they can hit your plate, too.
“I’m a city boy and I worked in finance. I didn’t know anything about growing anything. I met my wife and moved out here, and they asked if I wanted to put anything in this garden. I said, sure! After three years of that, someone at work suggested I try heirloom tomatoes.
“I discovered how much better they taste and how much people love them, and having a little extra I decided to sell them. The restaurants ate them up.
“After doing 18 plants last year, I thought, let’s see how much we can get rid of. Now, I have 550 plants. I started all of them from seed; I grow them in my basement to start and move them into a bigger area under a larger grow light, and come mid-May, we (friends and family) put them into the ground.
“I do the most of the Pine Fog. I took them to one restaurant in London and they said, “If you have any more of these, just bring them. I will take everything you have.
“I can pick them off the vine and deliver them that day. I’m not using herbicides or pesticides. If they want to come out and pick it, they can. I’m more than happy to show people what I do.”
Look for: Pine Fog, Carbon, and Pink and Purple Brandywine. Best in salads and eaten raw.