The Totally Terrific Tomat-Oh voting table had lots of activity to select this years winners
I now have new favorites!
And the word for the day was Tomato, with a capital T. There were tomatoes everywhere you looked – red tomatoes and yellow ones; striped and purple tomatoes; big and small, heirlooms and traditional favorites. It was all part of TomatoFest at the Franklin Farmers Market this past Saturday.
So many different Tomato varieties for tasting
Not only did the farms have oodles of delicious tomatoes to pick from, but there were also lots of tomato samples to try along with scrumptious bites of Italian tomato-based dishes from Amerigo.
Nothing better than Fresh made Salsa from Amerigo
Plus there was the special TomatoFest salsa, made with fresh tomatoes straight from the Allenbrooke Farm. It was truly a tomato-lover’s heaven at the market.
Amerigo Chefs Paul and Steven
Allenbrooke Farm Tomatoes
Preparation of Tomato Jam
Tomato Samples anyone?
Sharon & Jenny presenting over 15 different Tomato varieties to sample
Besides all of the great tomatoes, everyone got the chance to learn how to save tomato and other vegetable seeds. Saving seeds is important as it allows us to preserve heirloom seeds’ genetic diversity.
So much interest in Tomato Seed Saving
Farmer Zadok Johnson explaining the art of Seed Saving
Seeds are the beginning of our existence, our nourishment and how we grow our vegetables
The Johnson Family answering questions about the tomato and its seeds
Beaverdam Creek Farm wins 1st Place
But maybe the best thing about TomatoFest was the Totally Terrific Tomat-Oh! Contest between the farmers at the market. There was certainly a lot beautiful heirloom varieties entered in the contest, but the best were the ones that showed just how creative our farmers can be. The overall grand prize winner came from Beaverdam Creek Farm. It featured a “pineapple” heirloom tomato with a parrot fashioned out of a real pineapple! Kirkview Farms nailed down second place with a couple of tomatoes enjoying the day on the “beach”… surf’s up, dudes! And third place went to Flying S Farms, with their miniature farm scene, complete with a little harvest bucket filled tiny “spoon” tomatoes!
Kirkview Farms wins 2nd Place
Flying S Farm wins 3rd Place
Our thanks to Amerigo Italian Restaurant for sponsoring TomatoFest and to everyone who came out for a fun and tasty day at the Franklin Farmers Market. Tomatoes rule!
Professor Tomato
RV Tomato Protection
1st Place winner Beaverdam Creek Farm