By his own admission, local farmer Peter MacArthur was going to struggle to pay the inflated cost of oil to heat his greenhouse this past winter and early spring. So he decided to begin growing his famed tomatoes later this spring than usual.
"This year, what I did was different than any year," he said. "Because I couldn't afford the cost of the oil to heat the greenhouse, I planted them in May." The revised growing strategy worked, at least in terms of MacArthur Farm's tomatoes placing second in the slicing category at the Commonwealth's 38th Annual Tomato Contest at the plaza of the Boston Public Market.
The event drew 84 selections sent in from 19 farms, according to the State House News Service. Tomatoes were judged on flavor, firmness, color, and shape. MacArthur Farms received a tomato trophy and a certificate for taking second in the slicing category. MacArthur is happy he won because he wanted to inspire his daughter, Katie, who grows flowers and was also with her parents at the contest.
This year's warm weather caused the plants to grow rapidly, according to MacArthur, making the contest's timing just right for his crop. "I have a phenomenal amount of tomatoes all ready to be harvested," he said. "As with this time last year, the crop was done, it was finished. So they were all brand-new plants and brand-new tomatoes when we entered the contest. We were just started to pick, so you don't have a tomato that's been on the vine for a long time."
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