Posted Aug. 20, 2014 @ 2:10 pm
A Concord farm once again made a big
impression at the state's 30th annual Tomato Festival, a contest held Monday,
Aug. 18, at the Boston Public Farmers’ Market.
This year's festival entries were an all-time
record, but Macone Farm earned an impressive eight honors, with three trophies
and five awards. Concord’s Verrill Farm also picked up two trophies and another
honor.
Susan Macone and Anthony J. Rogers farm 13
acres located on Route 117, and sell wholesale to farmstands. Keeping the
operation small-scale allows Macone Farm to "really baby" the plants,
said Macone.
Macone Farm took second place in the slicing
category, for its Belgium tomato; second place in the cherry category for
Sungold; and third place in the heirloom category for Mr. Stripey; as well as
five other awards
Macone, whose family has a long farming
history in Concord, said winning an award in every category the farm entered
was "really special."
"We really enjoy what we do," she
said.
Tomatoes were judged by a panel of experts on
flavor, firmness/slicing quality, exterior color and shape. The contest was
sponsored by the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association in
cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and
Mass Farmers’ Markets and hosted by the Boston
Public Market Association. The contest was open to commercial tomato growers
and designed to increase consumers’ awareness of local agriculture.
The C
