Frequently Asked Questions... and some Answers, too!
Where will the TomatoFare be in 2009
TomatoFare 2009 at White Heron Winery on Sun, September 6, 2009, from 4PM to 9PM.
How much will admission be?
General admission tickets for the 2009 TomatoFare® are $20 in advance; $25 on the day of the event.
Founded in 1986, White Heron Cellars,
www.whiteheronwine.com is owned and operated by Phyllis and Cameron Fries and was the first winery in the region. The winery bottles Roussane, Syrah, Pinot Noir and a Meritage-type red wine.
White Heron Cellars is located in Trinidad, above Crescent Bar, at 10035 Stuhlmiller, Quincy, WA. See their website, for excellent directions and maps. For more info about White Heron Cellars phone (509) 797-9463 or Email at
info@whiteheronwine.com
For advance admission tickets write
martinringhofer@aol.com.
What are Heirloom Tomatos?
An heirloom tomato is an heirloom plant, an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) cultivar of tomato. Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years.
One school of thought places an age or date point on the cultivars. For instance, one school says that the seeds must be over 100 years old, others 50 years, and others prefer the date of 1945 which marks the end of World War II and roughly the beginning of widespread hybrid use by growers and seed companies or industrial agriculture. It was in the 1970s that hybrid seeds began to proliferate in the commercial seed trade.
Another way of defining heirloom cultivars is to use the definition of the word "heirloom" in its truest sense. Under this interpretation, a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down from one family member to another for many generations.
Additionally, there is another category of cultivars are cultivars that were introduced many generations ago and were of such merit that they have been saved, maintained and handed down - even if the seed company has gone out of business or otherwise dropped the line.
Most authorities agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open-pollinated. They may also be open pollinated varieties that were bred and stabilized using classic breeding practices. While there are no genetically modified tomatoes available for commercial or home use, it is currently generally agreed that no genetically modified organisms can be considered heirloom cultivars.
Most, if not all, hybrid plants, if regrown, will not be the same as the original hybrid plant, thus insuring the dependency on seed distributors for future crops.
Why do Heirloom Tomatos grow so well in North Central Washington
Heirloom Tomatos grow so well in North Central Washington because conditions are near perfect. Wherever grapes grow so well, so grow the heirloom tomatoes well. It’s a combination of perfect soil, abundant sunshine, high temperature, just plain all conditions making the perfect growing environment.
How can I volunteer?
Contact Martin & Jennifer Ringhofer at
martinringhofer@aol.com or (206) 784-5920.
Where can I find more information?
There are many sites on the internet but the best one for anything you want to know about heirloom tomatoes to the best heirloom tomato seeds on the planet is found at:
http://www.tomatofest.com
