Great Tomato Taste-Off | A Note of Thanks to our Volunteers

A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.
— Laurie Colwin

A Great Tomato Taste-Off without you wouldn’t have been as much fun!
— Jane Weissman

A bushel of thanks go first and always to….

Layton, Madi, Jo, Gabo, Brin, Luca, Emma June, and Esmeralda, Quail Hill’s farmers who cultivated such a tasty and varied selection of tomatoes — 50 varieties (the final count) with 48 available for tasting! Thank you ALL! for harvesting, on Thursday afternoon, over 20+ varieties from Town Lane. Without that effort, we would have had half an event! Harvesting on Birch Hill, as farm members have noted, is now a bit of a challenge; the first planting is nearly depleted and the later two aren’t totally ripe — but they do promise a bountiful September output. A special shout out to Gabo who not only helped set up the event space late Friday PM and Saturday AM but critically helped to ribbon the Birch Hill rows, distinguishing the varieties.

This certainly aided farm members Anita Wright, Randi Odesser, Kevin Coffey, Len Rubin, Ellen Fries, Jacqui Donlon, Cathy Shannon, Marc Drummond, and Selvinaz and Hakan Civan in seeking and finding a most respectful number of tomatoes on Friday morning.

Many thanks, too, to….

Susan Malfa and Cathy Shannon who washed all the buckets and bins as well as the farm’s motley collection of chairs on Friday afternoon.

Gordian Raacke and Ellen, lending her truck, who at 7:30 on Saturday morning loaded up the tomatoes from the shop and later filled water buckets in the Valley — transporting it all to Birch Hill.

Lois Vecchio, Becky Goldberg, Yvette from PLT, Melanie Woods, Madelaine Haberman, Peter Cobb, and Susan Malfa who helped unload and organize the tomatoes and arranged the tasting and info tables so beautifully.

Susan M, Melanie W, Kathy Masters, Eileen O’Reilly (and Brian), Fran Bermanzohn (and Landon), Gabi Raacke, and Susan Cole who kept the tables constantly supplied with bite-sized tastes — no small feat.

Carol Steinberg, Madelaine, Becky, Yvette and Melanie Tebbens from PLT who welcomed the tasters, managed the sales table, and kept everyone plied with bread and water to clear tasters’ palates

Carissa’s Bakery whose generous donation of baguettes not only cleansed our palates, but gained lots of new fans.

A special shout out to Johnny Morris who beguiled us with his delicious, eponymous Pickles — motto: Dill with it! — and his brother Frankie, mom Cheyenne, and Greg who managed a very busy sales table.

PLT’s Yvette, Leslie Salmeron and Megan Cuddy who provided valuable support by promoting the event; printing out flyers, fact sheets and rating sheets; and providing/ordering/delivering various supplies.

Thank you, ALL! It was a wonderful morning!

🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

Jane