About 300 people came to celebrate a time-honored garden staple at the Blount County Public Library Saturday morning, July 20. The organization’s second-ever Tomato Jam boasted live music, vendors, expert growing advice and of course, lots and lots of tomatoes.
While Jasper Hollow played hits and covers from the library stage, amateur and professional growers of all ages gathered in the common area of the building to sample tomato varieties, socialize and learn about the official Tennessee State Fruit . Food trucks outside provided sweet treats and food. At tables inside, representatives of the University of Tennessee Extension, local businesses and Blount County Master Gardeners with decades of growing experience gave advice.
Attendees also had the opportunity to enter their own produce to be ranked by judges.
Gardening
For organizer Alicia Peery, the event was an opportunity not only to celebrate the tomato but also to make a library event her own. After the previous organizer retired, Peery said she had the opportunity to decide what was important for a community event.
“It was in the conference rooms in the front, and I just thought that’s too separated from the music,” she said. “We need this all together, so I wanted to move it into the main gallery.”
Peery, who is setting up her own small garden, also oversees the BCPL’s seed library. She said the most common seeds taken from that collection are tomatoes, beans and corn. Those are produce anyone can grow, she said, and that means they’re easy for beginners.
Varieties
Tomatoes are often forgiving plants, John Wilson with the UT Extension said Saturday morning. Modern hybrid varieties offer hardy fruits that blend size, flavor and durability allowing novices to experiment.
The beauty of tomatoes, he said, is just how versatile they can be.
“They tend to serve themselves toward individual creativity,” he said. “Anyone can take a tomato and put their own flavor twist to it.”
From his own favorite fried green tomatoes to family salsa recipes handed down through the generations, Wilson said there’s a tomato out there for everyone. And while more modern varieties offer an easier growing experience, he said many people prefer older, heirloom varieties that could offer superior taste and texture.
Produce varieties, Ivy Winchester and John Coykendall said, must be at least 50 years old before qualifying as heirlooms. The two master gardeners came to Saturday’s event to answer questions from would-be and current gardeners.
Coykendall said he thinks many picky eaters avoid tomatoes because they’ve never had a “real” tomato.
“All the tomatoes in the stores are half plastic and Styrofoam,” he said. “Especially in the wintertime.”
Heirloom varieties, he said, are nothing like the fruits many people think they know. They offer a taste of flavor, tradition, and the heritage of gardeners that came before.
2024 Tomato Jam winners
Best Slicing: Mary Smith, Carolina Gold
Runner up: Nikki Turnmire, German Queen
Best Paste: Kathy McGee, Heirloom Roma
Runner up: Carter Twiner, Roma
Best Currant/Cherry: Logan Hull, Black Cherry
Runner up: Terry Lyon, AP’s Freezer Tomatoes
Youngest best tomato cherry entry: Benedict Cappelletti, 2-years-old
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