Photo by Shelley Hanson Shawn Kinneer, owner of Struggling Acres Farm of Cameron, on Wednesday stands with his tomato plants grown from seed by John Marshall High School students, from left, K. Phillips, Chris Truex, Eli Ward, Brooke Hunnell, Sarah Arnold, Michael Dornacker and teacher Danielle King. Kinneer will finish growing the plants on his farm and sell the tomatoes at local farmers markets.

GLEN DALE – When farmer Shawn Kinneer sells his tomatoes at farmers markets this summer, his stand will include a sign letting people know that John Marshall High School agriculture students had a big hand in growing them.

Kinneer, owner of Struggling Acres Farm in Cameron, asked the students and their teacher Danielle King to take his seeds and start growing the plants in their school’s greenhouse.

On Wednesday he picked up and took home the more than 1,000 plants that he estimated will eventually produce more than 5,000 pounds of tomatoes. Kinneer will finish growing the plants in his high-tunnel greenhouses on his farm.

These are not your average tomatoes; the varieties include heirlooms and some commercial seeds that cost 80 cents each, he said.

But Kinneer had confidence in the students’ abilities and helped them some along the way. Kinneer also knows about the school’s program because he took a horticulture class in the same greenhouse when he was a student there. He graduated from John Marshall in 1982.

“They’re beautiful,” Kinneer said of the plants. “They did a fantastic job – absolutely. Hopefully we’ll do it again next year.”

Kinneer described the program, which was formed at the state level, as a great partnership. He said the decision to do it again would be up to King and her students, who included K. Phillips, Chris Truex, Eli Ward, Brooke Hunnell, Sarah Arnold and Michael Dornacker this year. Though there was no cost for the students’ work, Kinneer donated $500 to the program on Wednesday.

Kinneer, who resides in Cameron with his wife Gatha Kinneer, will sell the tomatoes at the Marshall County Farmers Market at the fairgrounds and at a new farmers market at the historic Cockayne Farmstead in Glen Dale.

“Tomatoes, green beans and potatoes are my three biggest sellers. If you don’t have red on your table you might as well go home. They won’t stop; they don’t want nothing to do with you. They may look, but they will walk by,” he said of shoppers seeking tomatoes.

Kinneer said he expects some of the heirloom tomatoes will end up weighing a pound each. He said all the varieties he grows are tasty and good enough to eat sliced up alone, though he enjoys them on a sandwich with a slice of cheese, too.

Phillips, a senior at JMHS, does not typically enjoy the taste of tomatoes in general, but had fun growing the plants this school year. The work began Dec. 1.

“We knew this was a big thing. We were like, all right, we have to buckle down and get this done,” she said. “We were honestly scared because in the beginning they didn’t look the best that they could, but now you can see them and they’re, wow.”

Ward volunteered to come in on weekends and water the plants.

“They’re probably one of the more high-maintenance plants in the greenhouse because they need watered three times a day,” he said. “Tomato plants really like water and it gets hot on some days.”

Ward said he has enjoyed the program because it gets him out of the classroom and into the greenhouse to do hands-on work. He also enjoys growing the plants because it is not something he has done at home. He is looking forward to trying the fruits of his labor.

“I love tomatoes,” he said.

King said she is proud of her students’ work and dedication, adding they did “a great job” on Kinneer’s plants.

“The kids did work really hard on this. It was a little bit different because Shawn had a way he wanted us to grow them,” she said. “In the beginning, it was the hardest thing because we had to learn. But by the second batch, we had it pretty well down.”