Jerry and Jean Thomas, founders of Thomas Farm, are well known at the MBCFM markets for their organically grown flowers, veggies and fruit, and also because they helped establish the Aptos market over 35 years ago. It was the early 1970s and the organic food scene was hardly a blip on anyone’s radar when the Jerry and Jean found a small home on 5 acres on Happy Valley Road near Corralitos. The property already had an apple orchard on it, so they decided to settle in and began growing flowe
Jerry and Jean Thomas, founders of Thomas Farm, are well known at the MBCFM markets for their organically grown flowers, veggies and fruit, and also because they helped establish the Aptos market over 35 years ago. It was the early 1970s and the organic food scene was hardly a blip on anyone’s radar when the Jerry and Jean found a small home on 5 acres on Happy Valley Road near Corralitos. The property already had an apple orchard on it, so they decided to settle in and began growing flowers and vegetables. Jerry learned to garden from his mother, and the only organic reference literature available at the time was the Rodale Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. The roots of the family business took hold when son Josh and his wife Kari began running the farm on a fulltime basis after his parents retired. Josh had been working on the farm from an early age, and as soon as he was old enough to drive he began selling at farmers markets in the area. The Ecological Farming Association recently honored the Thomases with the coveted Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture award, also known as a “Sustie.”
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