TomatoFare returns on Saturday

Coordinator seeking restaurant, chef support

SOAP LAKE - In only a few years, Grant County has gone from growing zero heirloom tomatoes to growing the most heirloom tomatoes in the state.

So said Martin Ringhofer, coordinator of TomatoFare 2008, an event in which county residents provide a week's worth of heirloom tomatoes grown using plants they receive for free.

"As you may know, Grant County has the distinction of growing the most potatoes," he said. "The first year we got these growers going actually turned Grant County into the heirloom tomato capital of Washington State. We grow more heirloom tomatoes in Grant County than any other county does."

TomatoFare 2008's plant giveaway begins at noon Sunday for anyone with an interest in growing heirloom tomatoes and participating as a grower.

Growers receive free plants and keep all they grow except one week's worth, the week prior to TomatoFare 2008, which takes place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., at White Heron Cellars Winery the weekend of Labor Day, Aug. 29, Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, in which they provide their week's crop for the event. Growers receive free admission in exchange for tomatoes and their volunteer help at the event.

The free plants go on a first come, first served basis.

Ringhofer is requesting no early birds.

The event began in 2006, Ringhofer said, when he was surprised by an overwhelming response from people after an article appeared in the Columbia Basin Herald. Ringhofer likened the Soap Lake event to one in Carmel, Calif., which draws 4,000 people and 100 chefs from around the Bay Area to provide recipe tastings.

"We wanted to see if there was an interest, because my wife and I have been growing heirloom tomatoes for five years," Ringhofer explained. "We knew the area was just ideal for it. Every year we do about 32 plants and we get about 1,200 pounds of heirloom tomatoes."

Heirloom tomatoes cost about $7 per pound on the coast, Ringhofer said.

"And they don't go down in price," he said. "We also got to thinking, this area's got plenty of cherries, apples, apricots and peaches and all that. This would be an ideal crop."

Last year, the Ringhofers found about 50 growers looking to grow the tomatoes, who did "extremely well," Ringhofer, estimating the total result was about 40,000 to 50,000 pounds and 130 different varieties.

"Most of them gave it to friends, they canned and gave it away to people that got started growing and some sold at (the Columbia Basin Farmers Market) in Moses Lake," Ringhofer said. "It's really been so cool, because it's about giving and then other people get contagious and they give you and give others too."

Ringhofer's vision is to let the event eventually go free. This year, the Labor Day weekend event costs $20, down from last year's $30. This year also includes $10 in coupons, he added.

"What I'm hoping for is next year, in 2009, I'll have enough sponsors I can take the event and go completely free," he said. "The biggest challenge on the free will be whether we have enough tomatoes."

Noting the state does not have a tomato commission, Ringhofer said the event and growers are calling themselves the TomatoFare Growers Association.

"It's not profit, it's not nonprofit, it's grassroots, because the paperwork is a pain in the behind," he said. "But we think the state needs a tomato commission, but no one so far has ever been able to get something like this going."

The event is working to help growers grow their tomatoes directly to amateur and professional chefs, cutting down on the costs of shipping tomatoes from California, processing and loss, he said. The event is actively seeking chefs from around the region to prepare tastings of recipes for the event. Heirloom tomatoes are provided, and the chefs would prepare a recipe of their choice using the tomatoes.

"I'm really excited about having just hundreds of heirloom tomatoes growers in Grant, Douglas and the central area of the state that basically started from zero, and are going to create a new crop that really brings people in," Ringhofer said. "I think it's going to be a good revenue for the county and a new crop, which is cool, and it's just amazing. It's turned into a huge, beautiful story."

For more information, e-mail Ringhofer at martinringhofer@aol.com or access the event Web site at www.seattle-hotshotz.com/tomatofare/index.php.