Homegrown Tomato Challenge at the Garden on Saturday
By American staff
Home gardeners, it’s on. Who grows the best tomatoes? Little and big?
NatureSweet Tomatoes and Missouri Botanical Garden want to know. They are sponsoring the Homegrown Tomato Challenge on Saturday, August 18 at the Garden, located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard.
Local gardeners are invited to bring in their best tomatoes in both the small and large tomato categories for a chance to be one of two $2,500 winners. Runners-up will receive $250 each in prizes.
The event will also include tomato recipe sampling, cooking demonstrations, information on gardening organizations and a prize wheel. Chef David Zimmerman of Catering St. Louis will be on hand to demonstrate his fresh tomato and mozzarella salad and gazpacho recipes complete with samples.
Gardeners can pick up an entry form at any participating Dierbergs, Schnucks and Shop N Save stores, as well as at Missouri Botanical Garden. There are no restrictions on the variety or method of growing tomatoes, except that all entries must be homegrown by the entrant.
On Saturday, contestants must bring three large or 10 small tomatoes (entries must all be of the same variety) to the Garden at 4344 Shaw Blvd. between 9 and 11 a.m. for judging. One entry per household.
Tomatoes will be judged in two separate categories: small tomato variety and large tomato variety. There will be one $2,500 winner for each category. The large or small classification of the tomato will be based on variety and/or weight.
Tomatoes in both categories will be judged based on Brix/Sweetness and Taste. A Brix test determines sweetness – the higher the Brix number, the better the flavor. The finalists will then be taste-tested by a panel of local celebrity judges. Two Grand Prize Winners and four runners-up will be announced at noon. The two $2,500 first prize and four $250 store vouchers for runners up will then be awarded.
This year’s celebrity judges will include:
• Ed Goodman, KEZK-FM 102.5’s Morning Show Host
• Kathleen Goodman, Author, wife of Ed Goodman
• June Hutson, Senior Horticulturalist, Missouri Botanical Garden
• Chef David Zimmerman, Catering St. Louis
• Janice Denham, Food and Home Editor, Suburban Journals
• Jim McMillan, KTRS-AM 550’s “Inside and Out” Gardening Show
The first 100 entrants will get a special gift from NatureSweet. Tomato entries will be donated to The St. Louis Food Bank after the event.
Dierbergs, Schnucks and Shop N Save have partnered together to support this summer gardening competition.
