Weinberg’s Rosehill Farms was named a historic farm by the Texas Department of Agriculture.[/caption]Started six generations ago in 1895, Weinberg’s Rosehill Farms has been recognized for over 100 years of service to the Rosehill community by the Texas Department of Agriculture Family Land Heritage Program. The farm continues to sell the quality crops Tomball-area residents have come to expect.
“We’re proud of [the historical designation] because we’ve been farming all these years,” owner Margaret Weinberg said.
Although the farm used to sell its produce commercially as well, which was more lucrative, the family mostly sells to clientele from the Tomball and surrounding areas.
The 55-acre farm not only supports livestock but also produces various types of squash, peas, peppers, broccoli, cabbage and other crops.
The farm produces as much as 15,000 pounds of potatoes per year, the Weinbergs said.
“The red potatoes have a nice taste, but tomatoes are still No. 1. They taste even better, and that’s why people come here,” said Margaret’s son, Marvin “Bud” Weinberg, who runs the farm. “It’s a Bush Early Girl [tomato], and most people don’t plant them because they think they’re too small. But some of them get as big as a pound.”
The tomatoes arrived early this year in mid-May, and customers are already visiting to see what other fresh produce is already available.
“Our produce tastes better because we’re not like the stores that buy larger produce that is picked for longer shelf life. We pick our vegetables when they’re small and have better flavor,” Bud said.
He never met his late, great-great-grandparents, Wilhelmina and Friedrich Treseler, who began the family’s legacy of farming. However, Bud said he still feels connected to the patriarchs and others who have passed—including his own father, Marvin, two years ago—through the work of his hands in the same fields.
“My great-great-grandfather planted stuff and grew stuff out here, and I think, ‘Here I am doing the same kind of thing,’” Bud said. “It’s kind of like a legacy.”
Margaret, whose parents were also farmers, said she took over the farm 30 years ago, when her late husband retired from the farm.
“I farmed with my three sons [Bud, Mark and Stuart]. And I did everything—drove the tractor, picked the squash in the fields with them, and everything else,” said Margaret, who still works as a cashier despite retiring from the family business in 1993.
Recent flooding took out half the farm’s red potato crop as well as part of its best-selling tomatoes and caused up to a $15,000 loss. Despite that setback, Bud said he stays true to his family legacy. He said he hopes the legacy will continue through the seventh generation as his daughter Katie—who has also provided support at the farm—is expecting a daughter of her own.
“There’s some stuff that’s out of my control, and I have to worry about something every day,” Bud said. “But it sort of gets in your blood.”
