Master Gardener talks how grocery store tomatoes differ from locally grown ones

MARTINSBURG -- With fresh produce being consistently available at every grocery store in any neighborhood across the country, it has become a habit for many people in the modern day to purchase their produce from grocery stores, rather than from local farmers -- or from growing it themselves.

The convenience of being able to purchase groceries in one location and being able to often pay a cheaper price for them, may seem ideal -- but it comes with some unexpected drawbacks. Berkeley-Jefferson Extension Master Gardener Association member and Tomato Fest founder Mary Palmer noted tomatoes are a prime example of this.

"What you buy in the grocery store are hybrids. They won't come true to seed. You don't know what you're going to get in a store-bought tomato," Palmer said. "They are usually