Chuck Wyatt being from B-More and everything :-) Nice though.

GW Member: Number of Guest + self:
Greg 2 adults 4 kids
Cecilia 1 adult + ?
Janetm 1 adult + ?
Peggy 1 adult + ?
Tanagerzoo ?
Kimka 1 adult + ?
Collectordi ?
Steve 1 adult + ?
CottonPicker 2 adults

Total Number: 13

2 adults + 2 kids (10 & 7)

I think it would be neat to try the same varieties from different people. It could be a fascinating experiment!
Christine

Cool!

Peggy and possibly another adult.

As far as a people count goes:

GW/tomatoville member: Number of Guest + self:
Greg 2 adults 4 kids
Cecilia 1 adult + 1 maybe
Janetm 1 adult + ?
Peggy 1 adult + 1 maybe
Tanagerzoo (Christine) 2 adults + 2 kids
Kimka 1 adult + ?
Collectordi ?
Steve 1 adult + ?
CottonPicker 2 adults
Cynthia ?
Noreaster ?
Dunkel ?
Scott 1 adult + ?

Total Number: 18

Add your name to the count if you want to come. Also add the number of your guests and ammend the total.

Greg

I don't yet know my late summer schedule, but that sounds like fun. I'll probably come alone, but could possibly bring as many as two other adults.

Current growing plans include:
Sungold
Akers West Virginia
Box Car Willie
"Portuguese Neighbor's" - unknown OP from one of our Canadian tomato enthusiasts
Jaune Flamme

probably adding a black or two to the list, also probably a big yellow/orange, but don't yet know which ones. (Sorry the list isn't longer, but I'm building new beds and also need space to keep Patrina's new hybrid separate.)

Hi All
John and I shall endeavor to come, Will not post a list at this time. Getting started on seeding today and so far have 25 different seeded.
Have at least that many more to go
MAry

As far as a people count update:

GW/tomatoville member: Number of Guest + self:
Greg 2 adults 4 kids
Cecilia 1 adult + 1 maybe
Janetm 1 adult + ?
Peggy 1 adult + 1 maybe
Tanagerzoo (Christine) 2 adults + 2 kids
Kimka 1 adult + ?
Collectordi ?
Steve 1 adult + ?
CottonPicker 2 adults
Cynthia ?
Noreaster ?
Dunkel 1 adult
Scott 1 adult + ?
Gardenpaws_va ?
Mary & John (manure_queen) 2 adults
John (JerseyJohn) 2 adults
Reg (Reginak) 1 adult (date dependent)
Noreaster 2 adults

Total Number: 26

Add your name to the count if you want to come. Also add the number of your guests and ammend the total.

Greg

Hmmmm..... Sounds like you guys have got something great started! I wish you all the luck with setting this up.....

With it being only a 6 hour drive from NC, I may have to plan a weekend around it! Certainly a lot shorter than my drive last year to Cincinnati!

Lee

I'm in Delaware and have never been to a tomato fest of any kind. I also work full time and coach baseball in summer. But if the date is good for me I'd love to come!

I only grow my old faithfuls. Many plants of each. Only new variety for me this year is Persimmon because it was the TGS freebie. My varieties:

Brandywine Sudduth
Neves Azorean
Polish
Kellogg's Breakfast
Pruden's Purple
Big Zac
Big Beef
Persimmon
Black Cherry
SunGold

I'm so glad this is happening this year in our area. I'm growing 60 varieties (I got bit bad -- the tomato forum is DANGEROUS!). All OP except for Sungold. Well, count 59 because 1 of them is an F2 growout of a cross for the forum's dwarf project, and I doubt I'll have fruit to spare for a tasting - we'll see. Oh, add 3 more growing already in pots.

I'm starting the main crop seeds today. Yes, I realize it's probably too early. I can't help it, I have no willpower. There are robins in the yard and the weeping willow tree is looking gorgeous!

I'm sowing 2 of everything and plan to plant only 1 of each -- so I'll have seedlings at the spring swap!

I would also be interested in paticipating.
I am just now getting my seeds started for this season, if anyone in the Baltimore area has any extra seedlings they would be interested in trading or giving away let me know. I am especially intested in heirlooms.
Thanks Rob
rreichel(at)gmail(dot)com

Rob - are you planning to attend the plant swap in May? There are always a few folks (myself included) with tomato seedlings to trade or just give away.

Everybody - I left a message with Baltimore County about renting a pavillion at SW Area Park - nobody has called me back yet. I'll let you all know if it's still cheap enough for me to reserve a spot. I'm shooting for Saturday, August 26.

We'll be a volunteers.

2 adult and 2 children

I just want to thank who ever gave us the tomatoe plants last year. Becky love playing with the yellow/orange cherry tomatoes. I don't really have a green thumb but I did have around 10 fruits from each plants. I thought that was pretty good for me. There was one that was purple which is really yummy.

thanks

Wendy

Baltimore County Parks called me back today, and I have tentatively reserved a pavilion at Southwest Area Park for Saturday, August 26, from 10-6 (although our festival may not last that long). They are sending me a form and as soon as I mail it back with a check, I'll let everybody here on the GW Mid-Atlantic and Tomato forums (as well as the folks at The Garden Forums and Tomatoville) know the details. BTW, beer and wine are allowed - anybody planning on making tomato wine? Oh, and the pavilion contains 10 picnic tables (seating for 100), although we'll probably want to reserve a couple tables for the actual tasting.

So, it looks like MAYTAG is a go! (We ARE calling it MAYTAG, right?)

Wendy - I wonder if the yellow/orange cherry tomato you're speaking of was one of my Sungolds. Kids just love them - they're really sweet. I'll have more Sungolds to give away at the spring swap.

Tomato Folk,

MAYTAG is on.

Cecilia just send me an email and we have a pavilion reserved for us at SWAT in Baltimore for August 26th.

This is what she said.

******************************
Here are the particulars:
Pavilion 1 (pavilion closest to the parking lot)
Seats 100 (ten picnic tables - we might want to reserve two for tasting displays)
Electric outlet provided
Grills
Playgrounds and courts nearby
Hours approximately 10-6 (Suggests that someone show up 1/2 hour earlier to open - no problem for me)
and best of all ....
BEER AND WINE ALLOWED!!
... So you'll be able to bring your homebrew after all.
*************************

Cecila and I are spliting the cost of $100 on the pavilion. We will have a donation jar at the event if anyone wants to help. Cecilia suggested that if their was extra money that it could go for next year :-)

I suppose we should start looking for volunteers to help set up and tear down. Also, we could make it a potluck type deal but we may want to coordinate only in the sense that people post what they intend to bring so folks know what is needed.

Here are my opening suggestions and they really don't include the side dishes. This is just the mundane stuff:

1. Charcoal: 6 bags
2. Lighter fluid: 2 containers
3. One Large roll of aluminum foil for the grill
4. Water: 6 5 gallon self dispensing disposable containers.
5. Soda: 2 cases various
6. Fruit juice: 5 gallons apple juice?
7. Chicken: 8 chicken cut into pieces (of course sold that way from the store)
8. Grilling sauce
9. Table Cloths: 6 disposable plastic
10. Paper plates
11. Plastic ware
12. 16 oz disposable plastic cups
13. ICE in coolers of the soda and for drinks
14. Homebrew if I am allowed to bring it.
15. Paper towels: 9 to 18 rolls
16. Large plastic leaf bags for extra trash.
17. Tools that will go back home:
a. Grilling utensils
b. knives for cutting tomatoes
c. Magic markers for grading tomatoes
d. Paper for grading
e. Tape dispenser for sticking paper to tables
18. ?
19. ?

If I missed stuff in this list please add or if you think some of this is unnecessary thats fine as well. As a suggestion We could bring bags of washed salad and then let people add their tomatoes to a communal salad bowl.

Suggested Volunteers:

1. Cecilia
2. CeciliaÂs Husband (Chief griller?) (Charcoal, lighter fluid, Aluminum foil, Cooking utensils?, setup and tear down)
3. Greg Flynn (Chicken, barbeque sauce, 3 Coolers with ice, table cloths, homebrew if possible, and anything else as needed, setup and tear down)
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
All this is just an opening suggestion so feel no obligation, however, all help is appreciated and frankly is part of the fun :-) If you are serious about being a volunteer you should email Cecilia or myself and give us some contact information.

Also, we will try to add our MAYTAG to the tomatoville "Regional Tomato Gatherings" so you may want to catch us there.

Greg

Let me clarify that I just have a verbal agreement right now, and until I send in the forms and pay up, it isn't set in stone.

I'll have to work on Dave (my DH) - if he knew I've volunteered him as chief griller in August, he'd have a fit!

We definitely want to have a varietal taste test, but are there any other "contests" that folks would like to participate in? For example, largest tomato, ugliest, tomato, best tomato recipe? Put your thinking caps on. If we decide on any other competitions, I'll start searching for suitable "awards."

Mischka over at Tomatoville.com suggests that we call the thing MAGTAG instead of MAYTAG in order to avoid copyright infringement.

I can supply 16 oz. plastic cups (I've got lots already) and I've got hundreds of small 7 inch paper plates that I can contribute.

I'll also volunteer to man a grill (or is that woman a grill)

Unless we start charging a fee for the event, I doubt copyright infrigement will be a problem Besides Maytag is too busy trying to arrange a buyout by Whirlpool and Department of Justice monopoly objectionsto worry about the small stuff

KimKa

My goodness, I'm glad I checked in. I will be there with tomatoes if at all possible. Probably H, maybe sons, depending on schedules. This year I have just started (last Sunday):

Black Cherry
Cherokee Purple
Pink Brandywine
Pantano Romanesco (italian slicer)
Cuor di Bue (italian oxheart)
Abraham Lincoln
Amish Paste
a name-unknown Russian plum tomato that I got from Vlad and it probably has a name but I don't read cyrillic

I might also start some Patio (hybrid) but no guarantees. I'm really glad to see so many people planning to bring extras to the spring swap!

Laurel

PS: Life events have conspired against me this year; good to see you all again on the forums but I'm still somewhat "iffy"

OK, here's my list:

Ananas Noire
Arkansas Traveller
Aunt Gertie's Gold
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Black from Tula
Bloody Butcher
Boxcar Willie
Brandywine
Brandywine Red
Cherokee Green
Cherokee Purple
Cuostralee
Dr. Wyche's Yellow
Earl's Faux
Eva Purple Ball
Evergreen
German Red Strawberry
Green
Green Moldovan
Green Pineapple
Green Zebra
Greenwich
Gregori's Altai
Hillbilly PL
Indian Stripe
Kellogg's Breakfast
Lithuanian
Livingston's Favorite
Lumpy Red
Marianna's Peace
Matt D'Imperio
Neve's Azorean Red
Opalka
Orange Heirloom
Persimmon
Pineapple
Ponderosa
Prue
Redfield Beauty
Regina's Yellow
Spears Tennessee Green
Stokes Green
Stump of the World
Tangella
Tidwell German
Wes
White Beauty

Small-fruited:
Aunt Ruby's German Cherry
Bicolor Cherry
Black Plum
Brown Berry
Isis Candy
Jaune Flammée (a little too big to be a cherry)
Peacevine Cherry
Snow White

More seeds expected in the mail:
Green Giant
(MAYBE Grub's mystery green)
Galina's
Jubilee
Black Krim

Will that do? :p

What is SWAT, I have lived in Baltimore my whole life and all those letters mean to me is a really bad TV cop show from the 70's?
I was going to suggest Oregon Ridge Park, I know it is a little further for the DC and Virginia crowd but it is anice envionment and has good facilities.
I will bring plastic ware, 2 bags of ice, 5 gallons of water, some other non-alchol beverage and other things TBA.
Rob

SWAT is a typo - It's actually SWAP, for Southwest Area Park. I've lived a couple miles down the road from it for 13 years and never knew it existed until about 3 or 4 years ago! It's located in Baltimore County, adjacent to the Baltimore Highlands light rail station (in fact, you have to cross the tracks to enter the park).

You might recall SW Area Park from some recent local news stories. The Baltimore County Police Dept. K9 facility is located on the premises. Several county police dogs have succumbed to cancer in the past few years, and there were suspicions that the location of the facility was contaminated. Although both the K9 facility site and the park had undergone elaborate environmental testing that found the sites to be environmentally safe in 2002, the county decided to test both sites again, using a different company than the one that conducted the earlier tests. The company that I work for, EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, along with Concentra Health Services, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, and the county Dept. of Environmental Protection and Resource Management determined earlier this year that both the Park and the K9 training facility are environmentally safe and stable.

The link below includes directions to SWAP from the Baltimore Beltway. I'll post more detailed directions later.

Forgot to mention (although I've done so on the other forums) that SW Area Park is conveniently located a few miles from I-95, the Baltimore Beltway (695), the BW Parkway (295), and even Route 1!

Rob, SWAP is probably not nearly as nice as Oregon Ridge, but since I schlep from Lansdowne to Hunt Valley every weekday to get work, I'm looking forward to putting on an event closer to home!

Count me in! I'll list my tomato varieties in a few months when I know which ones are thriving.

Cynthia
Belcamp, MD

I'll bring the plastic ware, charcoal and a cooler with ice. Oh, and I have 2 bottles of tomato wine I'll bring along. I didn't make it, it was a gift.

I've added 2 more tomato types to the mix.

arumagams
oregon spring

Regina, you have been busy! What ya gonna do with all them maters? The tomato forum is indeed dangerous. I used to be content to grow a couple of celebrities and san marzano. This year DH had to extend the garden so I can grow 25+ plants...and that's nothing compared to some of you tomatoheads.

Hi Peggy. I'll be giving a lot of them away, I'm sure. That's actually a big part of the fun of it for me -- impressing the heck out of people! Showing them all the colors and types, and that it's all possible in their own back yards.

August 26th sounds good to me. I think I could make it ;-)

I'm not sure yet what toms I'll have--can't count my chickens before they sprout, but I'll have a lot of Eastern European Heirlooms, and some others too.

T

I would so love to be a taster! I'll be growing whatever I get from you at the swap, Cecilia;-)
The Sungolds had me in heaven last summer. The best by far. I was getting tooth sensitivity from eating so many of them!
A belated thanks to you, they were great.
Trudi,seeing your post reminds me that I do have some tomato seeds I can start, thanks.

Rose

Rose, I'll look forward to meeting you and so many people who are names and friends online/ It's nice to meet the the face and person in real life ;-)

T

I mailed the forms and sent the check to Baltimore County yesterday, so now I'm just waiting for them to mail me our official permit.

Here are a few assorted park rules and regulations:

Unfortunately, no pets are allowed.

We must begin cleaning and packing up at least one hour before the stated departure time (in our case, 6:00 pm). Each group is responsible for collecting their trash in bags and taking it to the nearest trash bin or dumpster, or taking the trash with them when they leave. There are several trash cans near the pavilion - I'm not sure whether there are any nearby dumpsters. I'll have to check. I will collect recyclables and take them home with me - Balto. County has curbside recycling and I can dispose of them that way.

Alcoholic beverages may only be consumed under the pavilion.

Charcoal fires are permitted only in park-owned or private grills. No fires are permitted inside the pavilions. (Note: two park-owned grills are located just outside our pavilion)

Hey, you guys are sure organized.
I would love to come and I think my husband (not a gardener but likes to eat!) will come, too. I am not an accomplished tomato grower, but I will try winter sowing some again this year. I am very hopeful to try the varieties that Trudi kindly sent to me since they are mostly early or prolific varieties that might do better in my cooler yard.

I might have any of these:
Hugh's Yellow
Juliet
Lumpy Red
Pineapple
Garden Peach
Goliath
Yellow Perfection
Others I can't remember right now

I think it will be interesting to see if the same variety of tomato tastes different from different gardens. It would also be great to meet you all, if I haven't already at a MAG swap. The location looks good and I'm glad it got a 'clean' bill of environmental health.

Sounds like fun. My wife and I are sure to attend. Able to help in any way and will bring whatever we can.

Robert and Marvella, Oak Hill VA

I'll be there! Thanks. I have 110 varieties this year....we'll have to see what's in peak season then and I'll bring a lot for seed saving, etc! Looking forward to it!

I'm resurrecting this thread because the green fruits that are appearing on my plants remind me that MAGTAG is only 2 months away. What kinds of activities/events would everybody like to see at the fest? Originally, we had suggested a taste test (where everyone could vote on the best-tasting varieties), perhaps a largest tomato contest (anybody out there have a food scale?), and of course, lots of tomato-based food items.

I'll jump in with some competition categories

Best tasting tomato within a variety
Best tasting tomato among the varieties
Biggest tomato
Best looking tomato (every competition should have a beauty winner)

How about a best salsa catgory too, so those of us who can't grow tomatoes can make something to compete with

Weirdest Looking Tomato

Just for goofs, we could bring our fallen tomatoes and have some Tomato Pitching :) Is there a wooded/overgrown/don't have to mop up kind of area that could be a backdrop for something like this? (or a good coal shovel)

(anyone have a target of some kind?)

--Tina

Here you go.

Peggy, I happen to agree with your opinion, but we need to keep this thread non-political!

Sorry, I couldn't resist...I'll behave:)

I like the idea of "best salsa." There could be a category for other "best tomato" dish as well.

Sorry to disappoint you but I am not the Steve on the tomato web. Steve in Baltimore

Sorry about the mistake, but glad you're attending anyway!

I'm very much looking forward to MAYTAG! yeah! it will be fun!

On a side note, tho not too far unrelated, I purchased an entire pallet of texas tomato cages today (96), and will not need all of them. If anyone if interested in taking some off my hands and helping me cover the cost --and only the cost to me--(lol), please let me know. it works out to baout $16 a cage ( a lot less than the $40 it costs at garden centers)- these things are AMAZING. I use no other cages.

Oh this sounds like heaven! All those summers in Alaska when I was yearning for a "real tomatoe".... If I don't have to work I'll be there. The lists of varieties makes my head spin and my mouth water. Mmmmm
I returned to MD too late to plant tomatoes this year but maybe I can bring other stuff. Is there a need for Brownies like at the spring swaps?

How about a contest for best (savory) tomato side-dish other than salsa? Make the ratatouille or sauce folks happy. For best tomato-based sweet or dessert, so the tomato-pie and tomato-jam folks can chime in?

I volunteer to bake something good and gooey, as a counterbalance to all the tomato acidity. Maybe banana chocolate-chip rum cake, maybe peach cake, maybe brownies -- not sure yet.

LynnT

Did I hear home brew?

Anne,

Yes you did. Its been in the fermenter for over a week and I did a taste test yesterday. The Amber ale was pleasant but not unusual, however, the Oatmeal stout was very smooth and almost chocolatey. Very nice indeed.

I will bottle it all next weekend, hopefully with labels that incorperate Cecilias MAGTAG emblem.

Greg

I just posted to the thread at Tomatoville, Cecilia & gflynn.

While thumbing through the July issue of Southern Living magazine in a waiting room, I discovered that it has a bunch of tomato recipes. Thought of y'all when I saw that. Their website also looks like it has a ton of good recipes that involve tomatoes.

Suja

Do you have a list of nearby hotels or inns? I'll probably come down on Friday and stay overnight.

Trudi,

Cecilia lives close to the location and posted some suggestions which I have quoted here:

****************************
The closest hotel to the park is a Quality Inn a mile or two from the park, just off the I-95 exit. It used to be a Holiday Inn Express, but changed hands and was renovated a few years ago. It has an Italian restaurant adjacent to it, which just opened (I haven't even tried it yet!) . The reviews I've read about the hotel on the internet are mixed - some folks say it's a dump, others have praised it. Its address is 1401 Bloomfield Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21227.

There are several nice hotels in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, which is about 5 miles from the park site - I don't know what your budget is, though, and some of them are rather expensive. If you stayed downtown, however, you could enjoy some of the nearby tourist sites - Harborplace, the National Aquarium, etc.

Another option would be to stay at one of the hotels near BWI Airport. The park is only a 10 minute drive or so from there (I even know a back way that avoids major highways).
************************

Balmer is a nice town and a day in the interharbor full of nice stuff. I was just at the aquarium with the kids last weekend; you can buy tickets online. There are many nice resturants we ate at McCormick and Shmidt. Also, if you like baseball Camden yards is also walking distance and tickets are cheap.

Greg