SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Everything about tomatoes will be celebrated as part of University of Missouri Extension’s 2nd Annual “Tomato Expo” planned for July 24 at the Springfield Botanical Center, 2400 S. Scenic Ave, Springfield.
A special “Growing for Profit” afternoon workshop targeting commercial growers or those wanting to grow produce for profit will be offered from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
This program has a separate enrollment fee of $15 per person. There will be two educational presentations.
Successful local farmer Curtis Millsap will discuss both growing and selling local produce. Millsap Farms is a first generation family farm, growing vegetables and community north of Springfield. The Millsaps have been farming here for ten years, growing a variety of vegetables ranging from asparagus to zucchini. The Millsaps sell through an on-farm market, Farmers Market of The Ozarks, a Community Supported Agriculture Program, and through local restaurants. The Millsaps grow year-round, using greenhouses, unheated polytunnels, and other techniques to grow and harvest 50 weeks a year.
The second presentation will be “Tomatoes in the High Tunnel –The Path to Profitability,” taught by Patrick Byers. High tunnels are low-cost, passive, solar greenhouses that typically do not use fossil fuels for heating or venting. Best of all, a high tunnel can be used to extend the crop production season for many fruit and vegetable crops.
REMAINING PROGRAMS
A free walking tour of the Master Gardeners of Greene County tomato plantings in the demonstration garden will begin at 5 p.m.
A vendor marketplace for tomatoes and tomato products opens at 5 p.m. in the atrium of the Botanical Center. The vendor area is open to the public. Millsap Farms will have a display as part of the vendor marketplace along with demonstrations from the MU Extension nutrition education program.
There will be a tomato taste-testing event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. To participate in this participants must be enrolled in either the afternoon commercial production class or the evening class. David Middleton from Lincoln University will be providing the various heirloom tomatoes to try.
The expo will conclude with an evening workshop (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) taught by Kelly McGowan, a horticulture educator with MU Extension, and Dr. Pam Duitsman, a nutrition specialist with MU Extension. Tomato production and nutrition will be featured during this program for home gardeners. Enrollment requires a ticket for $10 per person.
Advanced registration for either of the classes is needed and can be done in person at the Greene County Extension office, or by sending a check to Greene County Extension at 2400 S. Scenic Avenue, Springfield, MO 65807. A registration form is online at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene.
Tomatoes have a celebrated history in the Ozarks. Tomato growing and canning as a commercial enterprise began in the Ozarks sometime in the 1890s and reached a peak during the 1920s and 1930s, before trailing off dramatically around the time of World War II, and died out completely around the 1950s or 1960s.
While tomato production in the Ozarks has since declined, there is a growing potential for new local markets according to University of Missouri Extension specialists. Even without commercial production, tomatoes are a favorite of local gardeners.
Additional information about tomatoes is online at http://extension.missouri.eduu/greene.
— University of Missouri Extension
For more news from Missouri, click here.