I have slowly built up my organic tomato growing to the point that I am going to start selling to distributors and I need sources of product with a few questions answered.

1) I need a source that will sell smaller amounts of 10 pound tomato cartons. I have one now, but I would like to buy direct and save. I am talking 100 cartons at a time.

2) I have read that I need to not refrigerate my tomatoes but to cool them down to 45-55 degrees and to keep the humidity at 90-95%. In the past I have picked the tomatoes just a little green and put them in the house to cool to room temperature. Once they were red, I took them to a local store whenever I had a decent batch. Now I will be delivering to several distributors one a week, and the tomatoes start to look a little bad in some cases. At this point after reading, I think I need to find a smaller cooler case that will give me what I listed above and purchase it. I need a source, and I need to know what to exactly ask for.

3) What are your feelings on selling cracked tomatoes and or tomatoes that have deep lobes that sometimes will crack and weep a little? Do you sell them at a reduced price, and for how much, or do you not want to bring something like this to the customer at all? We sell organic to the distributor for $1.50 per pound. I hate to throw product away that I would eat myself, but people are so picky even if it is organic. We are in Arizona and cracking is a problem.

4) What do you or your customers feel about selling tomatoes of all sizes in one carton? Again these are heirloom and organic, and I grow multiple types. I do not see a problem, but again I read that distributors want uniform sizes. Just like people we come in all sizes, so I am guessing that heirlooms will be accepted in various sizes in one box. Please advise.