Tomato Man sells fresh tomatoes from his car

RUSSELLVILLE – William R. Smith is easy to spot in his old white Park Avenue sedan. He hauls boxes of tomatoes in the back. Regulars know where to look for him to buy fresh tomatoes right out of the car.

Locals call him the “Tomato Man.” It’s a nickname he’s obtained from years of growing and selling tomatoes directly from his car to family, friends, neighbors and other customers.

“I’ve sometimes sold most of my tomatoes at breakfast,” Smith said. “When people see me coming, they know they can get them. I used to go to the farmers market, but now I just sell them out of the trunk. Most days I’ll sell four or five boxes, about 25 or 30 pounds.”

Smith said he’s careful to pick many tomatoes that are “just turning” so they last longer. He sometimes makes deliveries to those who are unable to meet him in town. His customers often buy two or more boxes at a time and come back week after week. Some call ahead to put in requests for green tomatoes to be used for frying.

Smith grows Better Boy tomatoes exclusively, praising their size and flavor. He said customers hate tomatoes with a hard white core, a problem Better Boys don’t have. They can weigh up to a pound, though, and he says most buyers prefer average- sized fruits for easier slicing.

Better Boys have their challenges. They are indeterminate plants, meaning they keep growing all season.

“They’ll get eight feet tall if you don’t watch them,” Smith said. “You have to keep tying them up or they’ll break off.”

He uses sturdy stakes and zip ties, sometimes adding more supports once the plants outgrow their initial support structure.

Smith said he’s learned to prepare holes with fertilizer, Epsom salt, lime and plenty of pine straw to lock in moisture and suppress weeds. For special seedlings, he buys from local growers in Phil Campbell, Tuscumbia and sometimes Athens.

Smith said he doesn’t use insecticides unless absolutely necessary. He relies on lessons he picked up from Extension agents about how to use products like Sevin Dust sparingly. He avoids watering too much so as to help prevent blight, and he prefers oldschool methods for maintaining soil health.

Smith sometimes keeps planting late into the summer, although he knows the harvest might not be as good. Heat and weather are not the only challenges he faces.

He has learned by experience through his interactions with wildlife. One year, he planted more plants late in the season only to discover the deer loved his tomato plants.

“They didn’t eat the tomatoes — they just ate the limbs and leaves,” he said. “They wiped them out.”

He solved the problem by putting up four strands of electric fencing around the patch. “As long as I keep the weeds off the fence so it stays clear, it’ll keep them out,” he said.

He credits good plant stock for much of his tomato success.

Though he’s best known for his tomatoes, he also sells okra. Growing okra is not free of challenges, either.

“The deer are even worse on okra,” Smith said. “They’ll eat all the leaves and can ruin a whole patch in one night.”

Smith prefers a variety of okra called Crimson Spineless. He said customers love okra that’s short and tender so it will be “perfect for frying.” He fertilizes with triple-13 and 8-24-24 fertilizers depending on what’s handy.

To control weeds in his long rows, he created a homemade solution by using a gallon can with holes in the bottom to distribute weed preventer evenly. It’s a process he says results in okra without weeds, noting his weed preventer doesn’t hurt the plants.

Despite the headaches, he loves the work. Even a bad season won’t stop him.

Heavy rain set him back this year. He lost a lot of plants waiting on the ground to dry. But he planted about 200, down from the 400 he’s done in better years.

He sells his tomatoes for $6 for a five-pound box.

“I just want to sell them all,” he said. “I don’t want to haul them back home.”

Smith grew up in the Rockwood community in Franklin County, and he went to junior high at the now long since demolished school in Rockwood before finishing high school in Russellville.

After college classes and working as a photographer, he acquired an emergency teaching certificate and taught at Union Junior High, where he started a football team. He later served as principal and basketball coach at Tharptown.

He worked in Huntsville as the physical director at the Southeast YMCA while playing football with the Huntsville Rockets.

Eventually, he returned to Franklin County to coach and teach. He spent time coaching in Tennessee before returning home for principal roles at East Franklin Junior High and Phil Campbell High School.

His wife, Diane, loved tomatoes more than anyone, he said.

“I tried to buy her some from the market once, but she said they weren’t like homegrown tomatoes.”

For Smith, it’s not just about business, but also about following his passion.

“There’s just something about watching tomatoes grow,” he said. “I enjoy it. I always have.”

* Update: William R. Smith (“The Tomato Man”) has already reserved his remaining tomatoes for this season.