About Us
We moved to Traverse City from Chicago with our four children in 2003 and fell for the area instantly – small town life and the agricultural beauty of the region inspired us to take a huge leap, leave our jobs in finance and architecture and become farmers. In 2017, we purchased TLC Tomatoes, a hydroponic tomato farm nestled in the rolling hills of Leelanau County a few miles north of Suttons Bay.
Now called TLC Farms, our family business pairs old school work ethic with new school technology to bring fresh local produce to the community from late spring through an extended fall season. Hydroponic farming involves growing crops without soil, using water to deliver organic nutrients to the plants. This type of closed environment agriculture uses greenhouses to protect crops from harsh weather and pests, allowing us to produce beautiful, nutritious, and exceptionally delicious crops without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Over the years, we have expanded our operation and varied our crops based on market demand and customer feedback. The beefsteak tomato is still our largest crop, but we now produce a great variety of tomatoes, including the ever-popular cherry tomato mix of five varietals and of course, the heirlooms! Every year we trial new heirloom tomatoes searching for a wide range of color, shape, and size, each with a unique flavor profile – we now grow more than 40 varietals. We grow more than a dozen types of lettuce including our best-selling bibb, along with lettuce mixes, specialty greens and herbs, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, green beans, and tomatillos – click What We Grow for a full list.
We deliver to local grocers and restaurants, but most of our business is direct to the community – at farmers markets and in our on-site shop. One of our favorite things about running this business has been the relationships that we have formed with customers. We love to give a tour of the greenhouse and share our excitement about our unique way of growing and the beautiful food that we produce.
