Published: July 31, 2008 09:38 pm            

Tomatotastic

MC Master Gardeners to host tomato tasting

COLFAX — Everybody loves the beefsteak tomato because just about everybody grows them ... or knows someone who does.

And as we all know, tomatoes are summer’s gift that keep on giving.

But the Marion County Master Gardeners want you to know there’s more to tomatoes than the beefsteak.

They want you to savor their wondrous flavors at its first annual Tomato Tasting from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at the High Gate Carriage House.

Bring your own salt and pepper. And, if you want, bring some of your own tomatoes to share.

The idea came up last December at the group’s annual wreath-making classes as a community project.

Master Gardener Camille Hayhurst had read about another group holding a similar event in California.

“Tomatoes are ideal for eating raw,” she said. “They’re perfect for tasting. We all thought it would be a wonderful idea. We all tend to grow the same variety of tomatoes over and over again, and I think many community gardeners are the same.

“This is a way to encourage people to try heirloom and hybrid varieties that they might not otherwise have the chance to, particularly if you don’t garden and you rely on the grocery store for tomatoes.

“You don’t need a large garden to grow tomatoes. I put them in containers on my second-story deck to foil the deer.”

Sponsored by the West Virginia University Extension Service, the Marion County Master Gardeners aims to educate the community on different gardening techniques and to offer educational programs for local gardeners.

Can you tell the difference in taste from an heirloom tomato (the seeds are propagated from season to season) and a hybrid? That’s one of the ideas behind the tasting, said Master Gardener and state representative Paul Long.

“Hybrids are propagated for their disease resistance. Heirlooms are carried on from generation to generation for their excellent flavor.

“It’s also a chance to gather and exchange ideas about gardening.”

Professional judges will select Judge’s Choice and the crowd will choose People’s Choice. There may even be a Kid’s Choice and other awards (such as largest and best tasting), he said.

“We’re hoping this will become an annual event.”

Individual gardeners may also bring their own tomatoes to be tasted, six to 20 whole tomatoes per variety, which will be inspected and sliced on site.

“You may enter free of charge, but we would like at least one week’s notice. We want as many varieties as we can get. It doesn’t have to be anything particularly special, just something that’s your personal preference.”

To submit an entry, send an e-mail with your variety name and brief description to Valinda_1@netzero.net or call 363-4383.

The Pierpont Community & Technical College Culinary Arts Program will assist in the event, said Brian Floyd, coordinator of that program.

“We wanted to help in any way we could. They wanted experts from grower’s standpoint and experts from food preparation standpoint.

“So we’re combining forces. Some of the judging will include people from WVU Extension as well as growers, and also from a culinary perspective.

“We want to encourage and foster a good relation with farmers in the area and state. As a part of that, we’re working with Collaborative 21st Century Appalachia, creating a chef-and-farmer network. It’s a good fit as part of that connection. With local growers, from the standpoint of planning and preparation as well as judging. We’re excited to be a part of that.”

Also helping with the event is Dr. John Jett, consumer horticultural specialist and state Master Gardener coordinator at West Virginia University.

The tomatoes will come from the MC Master Gardeners’ experimental garden on Long’s riverside property off the Levels Road in Colfax.

Growing strong and proud among cabbages, corn and beans in the third-acre garden are the 30-some varieties of tomatoes — almost 300 plants altogether — that will be available for tasting.

“This is my property. I have heavily funded the project,” Long said.’

Mother Nature has a funny way of having her way with gardens and gardeners. Too much rain, and you have blight. Not enough rain, and you can have drought and sun scald.

“It takes good soil. Gardening starts and ends with good soil ... with adequate, even moisture,” Long said.

This has been a rainy spring, he added.

“Most gardeners say they’ve had to redo their gardens at least once.”

Marigolds are planted around the tomatoes to repel tomato-hungry marauders, like groundhogs and deer, with their strong scent.

The 30 varieties of tomatoes are laid out in rows, six plants to a row. Here’s where the experiment comes in.

“We wanted to demonstrate different techniques,” Long said. “So we have two plants on stakes, two on cages and two on trellises. Half of those are grown in black plastic and half in mulch.”

Black plastic cuts down on weed pulling, he said, and warms the soil sooner for quicker, better production. Mulch, which can be anything from shredded newspaper to grass clippings, keeps even moisture.

“We’ve all agreed we want cages on black plastic,” he said. “The cage allows unlimited production and the black plastic gives more production faster with less weeding.”

The seeds were ordered from a catalog.

“We didn’t get plants that just thrived in this area. We just looked at general characteristics,” Long said.

Those varieties include Season Starter, Yellow Stuffer, Applause, Keepsake Sub-Arctic, Celebrity, Big Rainbow, Great White Tomato, Old German, Golden Mama, Sausage, Jubilee, Vera Tomato Pepper, Oxheart, Razzle Dazzle, Burpee’s Delicious, Ponderosa Pink, Country Taste, Yellow Cherry, Grape Tomato, Sub-Arctic Plenty, Honeybunch and Mortgage Lifter.

“Yellow tomatoes are a lot less acidic and a lot more pleasant, I think,” he said. “They’re sweeter than red. A little different.”

From hybrids to heirlooms, the garden is laden with many other varieties of vegetables: a big watermelon patch with four varieties. Rows and rows of sweet yellow corn. Heirloom pole beans. Eight kinds of cucumbers. Huge cabbages. Eggplants. Heirloom tomatoes. Summer squash. A pumpkin patch. Gourds. Potatoes. Sweet potatoes. Onions.

The goal is to donate some produce to the Union Mission and sell the rest, Long said.

“We will have more cucumbers and squash than we’ll know what to do with,” he said, laughing.

“There was some discussion of whether to call this a community garden,” Long said. “We decided to call it an experimental garden because we’re trying to demonstrate and practice different methods of managing. When we do invite the public here, they can see how they’ll do with certain techniques — like with black plastic or not — to try in their own gardens.”

“It’s a powerful garden,” said Valinda Loy, an intern with Marion County Master Gardeners.

“This is a great experience, just to work with the other gardeners, to share the ideas and different ways. I have learned so much about gardening, just coming out here and hanging out with everybody.”

Even without all the fruits and vegetables, the garden would still be a pleasant place to be on a hot summer day. Located at the bottom of a slope, it faces the Tygart River, literally just a stone’s throw away, with its rushing water rippling nearby. Large shade trees create a dark, inviting canopy perfect for taking it easy.

A large hive of honeybees, donated by local beekeeper and Master Gardener Charlie Chipps, keeps the air humming with the thrum of the 20,000 bees intent on fanning the hive to keep the queen and her eggs cool.

“We had no bees in our personal garden last year,” Loy said. Then a neighbor added 10 hives.

“And now I can’t keep bees out of my garden. It’s so neat to see them buzzing around again. It’s so good to see people bringing them back.”

“They say bees make a good tomato patch,” Long said.

Most of the garden was out by June 1, he said, with the tomatoes out by early May and corn by mid-May.

“They say corn should be knee-high by the Fourth of July. Ours was 5 feet tall. We will have corn ready to eat within the week,” Long said.

E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.

        

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