The University of Missouri — Columbia’s — Jefferson Farm is hosting its newly recovered Tomato Festival on Sept. 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.. The event, which is back after a four-year hiatus, will showcase 100 varieties of tomatoes and 30 varieties of peppers for tasting, as well as salsa, salad and other tomato products. 

The event is free of cost and open to the public and will host a presentation by Professor of Plant Sciences at Mizzou and State Floriculture Specialist, Dr. Dave Trinklein, on growing tomatoes. There will also be activities for children, including barnyard animals and flavor tastings.  The event’s location, MU Jefferson Farm Extension and Education Center, is a 67-acre educational farm designed as an agricultural outdoor classroom for the school and community. It is home to various Missouri crops, pollinator habitats and fruit and vegetable gardens. 

Event coordinator and co-founder of the Tomato Festival, Tim Reinbott, said the biggest challenges in bringing the festival back included funding for seed and other planting needs, along with hiring labor to manage, pick and prepare the tomatoes. Reinbott also said he faced complications with the promotion of the event.Ti

“When I last did the Tomato Festival in 2015, I used newspaper ads and social media to advertise,” Reinbott said. “Now, newspapers’ subscriptions are only a fraction of what they were in 2015, so we had to rely on social media. I always wonder if we are hitting all of our audience.”

Sophomore Millie Sexten, a Greenhouse Production student at CACC, expressed her interest in the event. She has never attended the event but aims to do so at the 2023 festival. She is excited to try the new tomato types and, as a gardener herself, is interested in learning the best ways to grow tomatoes in Missouri.

“Tomato Festival is important to me,” Sexten said. “It helps people learn about and appreciate tomatoes.”

With a mission to cultivate an interest in food, agriculture and the environment through their programs, the MU Jefferson Farm aims to engage the community with the Tomato Festival. Reinbott said the festival’s mission is for the public to be introduced to a range of different tomatoes and peppers, and the products that can be made from them for years to come.

“I hope that we can make this an annual event again,” Reinbott said. “Grow it to what we had before, with 150 plus tomato varieties and 50 plus peppers. Plus more salsa and tomato product tasting.”

Are you planning on attending the Tomato Festival? Let us know in the comments below.