Tasmanian Garlic & Tomato Festival is on at Selbourne in March

Now in its fourth year, the festival has grown in size and popularity, with organiser Annette Reed excited about all that will happen at her 40-hectare Selbourne property later this month.

The festival includes speakers, garden tours, cooking demonstrations, tomato- and garlic-themed activities and market stalls.

Garlic expert Penny Woodward will share her insights into the purple bulb, while tomato grower Petrina Nuske-Small will speak about her modern dwarf heirloom tomatoes.

“We’ve got a lot of those dwarf tomatoes here this year. We have about 130 heirloom varieties this year,” Mrs Reed said.

“We’ve got all colours, shapes and sizes. They’re not your standard glasshouse hydroponic produce.

“We know a lot of home gardeners can relate to what we grow,” she said.

Visitors who enjoy the flavoursome combination of tomato and garlic will enjoy watching chef Luke Burgess, of Garagistes fame.

“Luke is forward thinking and represents a new breed of chef who works with the farmer and takes what we have and creates with it,” Mrs Reed said.

“It is a different style of cooking, eating and dining.

“He will be doing a chef’s tour of our garden and grabbing what he wants to bring back for his demonstrations.”

Mrs Reed said the festival had a country fair feel.

“Local producers and stall holders will be here, with a focus on quality across the board.”

“It’s growing every year,” she said.

Tomatoes might be nearing the end of their season, but it has been a good one for the Selbourne business.

“The tomatoes enjoyed a hot spring and an early hot summer,” Mrs Reed said.

“Our tomatoes came on early and produced madly for Christmas, but now they’re getting tired.

“The quality of the fruit has been excellent. We’ve had great feedback,” she said.

On the other hand, the garlic side of Mrs Reed’s operation suffered this season.

“For us garlic has not been as good, particularly for early varieties,” Mrs Reed said.

“We’ve found over the past few years that the drier springs and then plunging into cold has given us ups and downs.

“The early garlic cultivars are in their rapid formation period, but later cultivars are doing better,” she said.

The Tasmanian Garlic & Tomato Festival will be held on Sunday, March 18 between 10am and 3.30pm at 338 Four Springs Road, Selbourne.