The baseball season is opened with a ceremonial pitch. In Arkansas, tomato season is open when the first box is delivered to the Bradley County Extension Office.
A box of Roadsters has gotten Arkansas’ tomato season off to a fast start.
“The first box of tomatoes for 2024 was brought in on Memorial Day by Brad Harrod, owner of Brad Harrod Farms & Hermit Corner Produce,” said John Gavin, Bradley County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Gavin is known statewide for his expertise in tomato cultivation.
Cooperative growing conditions meant “the tomatoes were delivered five to seven days earlier than usual,” Gavin said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The box was comprised of the Roadster variety of tomatoes, which are known for its flavor, scarlet color and resistance to disease.
The tradition of delivering the first box to the county extension office began “probably sometime in the mid-1970s,” Gavin said. “At first, they could bring them to the extension office or the newspaper office, but eventually everyone just started bringing them to the extension office.”
Tomatoes have a long history in Bradley County, with farmers there raising them to sell since the 1920s. The variety of choice was a tomato that was picked when the tops just began to blush pink. In 1956, the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival was born to promote the crop and has been a summertime staple ever since. This year’s festival will be June 14-15. The county grows about 350 acres of various tomato varieties.
The fruit is so ingrained in Arkansas culture that in 1987 the legislature declared the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as the state fruit and vegetable.
The Harrods have about 25 acres of large round, grape, Roma and heirloom tomato varieties. They have an additional 70 acres of various fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, cucumbers, more than 35 varieties of peppers, onions, potatoes, corn and more, Gavin said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact a local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.
Mary Hightower is with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.