She Grows Tomatoes By The Sea Shore

Laura Avery

Mirror contributing writer

   Bertha Wong and her daughter Debbie Chamberlain are third-and-fourth generation tomato growers who arrive at the Santa Monica Farmers' Markets right around the first of March each year with their anxiously-awaited, desert raised, hydroponically grown crop of "red gold" -- juicy, vine-ripened, meaty, large sized (this year) tomatoes from the north shore of the Salton Sea. Debbie and her mom, Bertha, are carrying on a family tradition developed by Bertha's late husband, Ed, who is still fondly remembered and sorely missed by his loyal market customers, and Ed's father, a second-generation Chinese immigrant who settled in San Clemente and began farming in 1945. 
   Ed's dad was a traditional "dirt" farmer, to use the parlance common to hydroponic growers. Hydroponic farming is a method that utilizes no soil, but rather a nutrient medium circulated in water through PVC pipes to vegetable plant "plugs" supported by foam to stabilize their roots. In San Clemente, Ed's father dirt farmed on leased land as did many of his fellow countrymen when California vegetable farming, prior to World War II in San Diego County, was widely practiced by Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Unfortunately for Ed Senior, shortly after Richard Nixon left office in ignominy in 1973 Ed's land was reclaimed by the Federal Government to set up Nixon's post-Presidential residence, and the Wongs were forced to look for farming land elsewhere.
   Ed Junior looked toward the Salton Sea, where wide stretches of desert lay open and available. He bought ten acres and began doing research on alternative growing methods, especially hydroponic. Not only were land and sunshine plentiful near the Salton Sea, but the tomato's normal growing cycle, which depended on warm soil for germination and rapid growth, could be hurried along if the roots were kept submerged in a warm nutrient bath, permitting early planting and early harvest while commercially grown tomatoes were still in the artificially ripened, inedible styrofoam phase. 
   Ed did a lot of reading and experimenting, and by 1973 he was had set up his PVC growing beds and was producing tasty, fully vine- ripened tomatoes. Always the innovator, Ed's growing successes were noticed by a Saudi Arabian trading company which hired him to consult about setting up a commercial tomato growing operation in the Saudi desert. Hydroponic farming is also water-conservative. Since water is recirculated in a hydroponic system, only seven gallons per plant are used during the first 65 days of growth, as opposed to a conventional drip irrigation system on a dirt-farmed tomato plant, which uses 130 gallons per plant. After the plant is matured and harvested, any excess water is used in Debbie and Bertha's farming operation to water the mangoes and grapes that grow in soil nearby. 
  Insisting on quality and purity, Wong farm, formerly known as Desert Hydroponics, uses expensive artesian well water which costs thirty times more than farm irrigation water taken from the Colorado River which is used for conventional farming in their area. Quality hydroponic farming depends on the purity of the water, so the Wongs pay an average of $800 per month to irrigate their three acres of hydroponic tomatoes.
   Right now at the markets you can find the Wongs' huge beefsteak-variety tomatoes, the "Shady Lady,"as well as a golden variety, "Mountain Gold" and a "Rio Grande" plum tomato. In addition, the Wongs' stand is the only place where you can find a dependable supply of full-sized green tomatoes. Capitalizing on a steady supply of early, vine ripened, flavor rich tomatoes, the Wongs are about to launch a mail order web site that will guarantee a delivery of red, ripe tomatoes to your door within three days. The price for these sun-ripened beauties is $2.50 per pound. They have a shelf life of up to ten days, are juicy, sweet and flavorful. 
   Close your eyes, take a bite, and you will think that summer is already here.