Hanover tomatoes thriving amid heat and drought ahead of festival

HANOVER, Va. (WWBT) -Crews in Hanover are gearing up for one of the biggest weekends of the year, rain or shine.

This means the Hanover Tomato Festival will happen even if the scorching temperatures continue.

A recent lack of rain could concern some people about the big event and the crops that will be grown there.

Jeff Sears and his family have owned Hanover Vegetable Farm since 1902, so they know the tools and tricks for watering their crops properly, even when the rain is not coming. He says they pick hundreds of tomatoes a day.

While rain is not a problem, storms and hail can be, as they can ruin the plants and bruise the tomatoes. Heat is another element that can be damaging when there are consistent stretches of it.

“It just depends on how long because you know we’ve had years where it lasts for a week, and then we’ve had years where if this goes on for three weeks, that’s what makes a difference,” Sears said. “The heat will actually start to cook the tomato from the inside. It’s like if you took it and stuck it in the microwave for five seconds.”

The heat can impact the fruit’s taste and appearance, one of the festival’s more important aspects.

“Even if you look at the tomatoes, you’ll see like the splotches and stuff it’s from the heat, too, you know, so it affects the quality compared to if you take one, it’s perfectly red,” Sears said. “The biggest thing is just packing them up, and it has to be the right color because these need to be red enough for when people buy them Saturday. They need to be ready for people to use Saturday.”

Sears says the tomato festival is different from other parts of the summer since the crops they drop off must also be ready to eat. His team has been doing it long enough that they can package and time tomatoes the week leading up to the event.

The festival needs around 400 boxes from Hanover Vegetable Farm and 200 from Rosa’s Garden in Mechanicsville.

The venue is in a bigger space again this year, as it has been growing. Crews there are preparing for the hot weather and warning all employees to stay safe.

“It’s an event in July, so heat is synonymous with the Hanover Tomato Festival. I don’t think we’ve ever had a cool Hanover Tomato Festival,” Aaron Reidmiller with Hanover Parks and Recreation said. “So people kind of know to expect that when they come but, of course, we have cooling stations in the event field, plenty of tents set up for shade. So you can come to the event and enjoy it and not be in the sun for hours and hours and hours.”

Both crews have been doing the event for decades and are ready for the weekend.

The event kicks off at Pole Green Park on Friday, July 12, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, July 13, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.