Cultivating Community One Tomato at a Time

Friends, neighbors, avid gardeners and one incredibly lucky reporter squeezed into Mark and Nancy Mazur's kitchen in Irvington for a unique tasting event on Sunday. 

Guests circled the kitchen table eying the vibrant plates full of edible artwork and, popping sliced wedges of fruit into their mouths, savored each sample's unique texture and flavor.

It may seem hard to believe that 14 different kinds of tomato can deliver 14 distinct tasting experiences…

But they can!

For five years, the Mazurs have maintained the same 700-square foot garden plot in Irvington's community garden. And this year—split between their home garden and the community plot—the couple grew 22 different types of tomato.  Fourteen of those could be sampled at Sunday's "Tomato Pleasurefest."

"Last year's late-season's tomato blight was devastating," Nancy said.

Her husband chimed in: "So this season it's like nature's making it up to us."

Of the varieties of tomato the Mazurs offered for sampling, four were grown from seeds saved from last year's crop and 10 were purchased from west-coast garden company Territorial Seed.

"Since we've had our plot for more than three seasons, we can guarantee that everything grown is certified organic," Mark said. "We use nothing on our plants or in our soil but: fish emulsion, kelp spray, composted chicken manure and a sustainable fertilizer purchased from an Indiana-based company called Gardens Alive."

Tomato names included: Gold Medal, Millie, Mikado, Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine, Black Ethiopian (actually from Ukraine)—

"And I love this one," Mark said, holding an enormous and irregularly-shaped tomato in his hand as if he were a mad scientist extracting organs from a freshly slain animal. "It's called Cuore di Bue, or Ox Heart."

Nancy is the mastermind behind seed preservation, keeping each type separate in labeled glass bowls. 

"You have to let the seeds ferment slightly to break down the gelatinous covering around each seed," she said. "You put it in a dish and leave it until it gets a little funky, rotten and nasty; then put it through a sieve to separate it out."

Nancy's goal is one day to have a seed-swapping group in the Lower Hudson Valley.

"It's wonderful for the community and so much more sustainable when you can establish a barter system like this," she said.

Though the flawless presentation of their homegrown tomatoes made the process seem effortless, Mark conceded that maintaining such an intricate garden takes a lot of time and discipline.

"We would go out to the garden two or three days per week," he said. "But after intense rainfalls, we could wait a little longer."

And twice this season, the water main connected to the garden broke, and dedicated gardeners had to haul their own water to the site in enormous jugs.

"It took about five or six days for the village to get it back, but all of us worked together to keep everyone's plants alive," Mark added.

There are 28 plots in Irvington's community garden, which is located on the nearby Columbia University Campus.  Although the plots are free, there is generally a waiting list to receive one.

"But since we're considered seniors, we are guaranteed to get the same garden if we reapply," Mark said.

Although Mark is accustomed to hosting tasting parties—he's a professional wine writer and educator who runs Irvington based wine consulting company VINOSENSE—he said there was something more gratifying about watching his friends and fellow veggie-connoisseurs come together over his personally-grown fruit.

"I love tomatoes," he said. "There's nothing like waking up in the morning and popping a fresh cherry tomato into your mouth. The juices just explode like nothing you can buy in a store."