Gary Ibsen, the festival's founder, is perhaps the heirloom's number one fan, and he dishes out plenty of advice for novice growers looking to take home a piece of the festival. He believes everyone can grow tomatoes and suggests starting with a variety of colors from pink to yellow to striped so you can always enjoy a colorful, tasty meal. TomatoFest is the perfect place to take your taste buds on a test drive and see which of the 350 different varieties are for you. Maybe you'll be drawn in by the celebrity varieties like the ‘Julia Child' and ‘Paul Robeson' or perhaps the orange juice inspired ‘Kellogg's Breakfast' will steal your heart.
You can sample your heart out and then purchase seeds of all your favorite varieties. When you get home, plant them without fear because Gary is confident that you'll have success no matter where you live. "For the most part people anywhere can grow heirloom tomatoes. I have cards and letters from folks from New York City, from Minneapolis, who are doing the roof garden planters and say hey look, I want to show you pictures of my great crop on the top of Manhattan."
While you're there, take a few notes from the chefs too so you can have success in the garden and the kitchen. Recipes like guacamole with tomato jelly, tomato pineapple crumble and tomato, caramel and bacon chew are sure to impress your friends when they're made with homegrown heirlooms. You'll be a rock star gardener and chef in no time.
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