MONTAGUE — Montague’s Red Fire Farm took home both first and second place in the 2021 Massachusetts Tomato Contest’s “cherry” category.
The 36th annual competition, held Aug. 24 in Boston Public Market’s plaza to raise awareness for local agriculture, brought in 77 entries from 15 farms across Massachusetts.
The entries spanned across four categories: Slicing, cherry, heirloom and heaviest. Adding to a years-long history of frequently placing top three in all categories, the fruits of the farm’s labor were both of the “cherry tomato” variety this year.
Red Fire Farm co-owner Sarah Voiland said the farm, which she runs alongside her husband Ryan, grows “over 100” varieties of tomato.
“And there’s so many more varieties than that,” Voiland said. “Tomatoes are a very big crop for us.”
It’s this acknowledgement of the vast world of tomatoes that prompted the farmers to forgo a battle-tested winning formula for the competition.
“Every year, we try varieties of tomatoes to find out which varieties taste the best,” Voiland said. “These that we had in the contest this year happen to be the trial variety.”
The variety that won first place — the Chocolate Cherry — is dark brown and red in color. Voiland said that the Chocolate Cherry’s combination of flavor and richness secured the victory.
“Aside from the balance of sweetness and tang, it has more layers,” Voiland said.
The variety that won second place, the Starlor, is oval in shape and yellow in color. Voiland said that the same excellent balance of “sweetness and tang” helped it beat out other farms.
“It’s a constant effort to find the best fruits and foods,” Voiland said, pleased that her farm’s experimentation was rewarded. “I think it’s an affirmation of our continuous exploration for different varieties.”
Voiland said that despite the great success of the farm’s cherry tomatoes at the contest, farming conditions were peculiar and difficult this year.
“In July, we had a lot of green,” Voiland said. “Then, it got dry for a bit. Then, there was a lot of rain. It was a challenge growing tomatoes this year.”
Voiland said that for the town of Montague, such exploration means “a well-rounded diet for the community.” For Red Fire Farm, this is motivation enough to keep up the effort.
“Something delicious will come of it,” Voiland said. “For the town of Montague, I hope it means people have access to the best tomatoes in the world.”