Buy Photo. There’s a variety out there for everyone,” LeHoullier said. Some of LeHoullier’s earliest memories are of walking through his grandfather’s garden with him, and he has early memories of his father’s garden too. 3. Now gardeners all across the country know Craig LeHoullier of Raleigh as the NC Tomato Man. His seedlings and books will be available for sale. Taken 7/10/19. He turned the driveway of his house in Raleigh into his open-air nursery where he’s grown hundreds of tomato seedlings each year. That taste of tomato was like water to a seed – a catalyst to help a love of gardening grow. So McCormack offered the tomatoes as Cherokee Purple in his 1993 seed catalogue, making it available to the general public for the first time. He had even started a newsletter about tomato seeds. Make Salsa: Chop 1 green onion (both white and green parts) per each diced tomato… Dr. LeHoullier has been growing tomatoes and other heirloom vegetables for decades. Pretty plants but no beans. Ongoing work While it may seem like blasphemy, his favorite tomato variety is actually a hybrid though. Living with a man … North Carolina’s “Tomato Man” makes a mark saving and sharing heirloom tomatoes By Brandon Herring on July 16, 2020 Many North Carolinians may know Craig LeHoullier simply as “the Tomato Man” or maybe “the North Carolina Tomato Man” if they’re being specific. Tomato Man Inc is a North Carolina Business Corporation filed on September 1, 2012. Many people also may recognize LeHoullier from the many years he spent selling heirloom tomato seedlings at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh. Pick your own (u-pick) tomatoes farms, patches and orchards in North Carolina, NC. Naming the Cherokee Purple By 1990, he was gardening in Pennsylvania, prior to his move to Raleigh, working for Smith Kline Beecham (which later merged with another company to become Glaxo Smith Kline). Submit Photos . John Green in Sevierville, Tennessee, apparently caught wind of LeHoullier because he sent LeHoullier seeds from an unusual tomato variety without a name. He grows about 150 to 200 varieties of tomatoes each year, plus eggplants, peppers and other vegetables. “I share, they share, and I learn from them.”. Craig Lehoullier - Saturday, April 29 at 10am. An Evening with Craig LeHoullier, The NC Tomato Man. ... man we had arrived Yes we fell from grace at Cora’s Place Richard Joyner is nurturing a healthier community in Edgecombe County, Meherwan Irani of Spicewalla is fairly legendary in food and restaurant circles. This Monday, July 17 th. Craig met his wife, Sue, now a retired nurse, while he was earning his doctorate in chemistry at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The company's filing status is listed as Current-Active and its File Number is 1272799. 9. Last of the Half Runner Beans coming to The Tomato Shack this morning (Wednesday)...South Carolina Freestone Peaches and North Carolina Heirloom Tomatoes are at their peak, so, come on down to The Shack! Craig LeHoullier shares his advice for four easy tomato preparations to enjoy now and later. While he’s sent seeds from each variety to Victory Seeds, he’s also kept seeds from every variety. Photos. Choosing a variety that has proven to be a true performer should be at the top of every gardener's list. All tomatoes grown in North Carolina are grown for fresh market and the majority of the industry utilizes the plasticulture system with raised beds covered with plastic, drip irrigation, fumigation of soils and the string-weave culture system. NC State Extension is the largest outreach program at NC State University. Craig Lehoullier, a retired scientist living in Raleigh, is North Carolina's Tomato Man. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Lamb, Alan J. and is located at 3570 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville, NC 28792. Since returning home, I've been clearing out the garden - all tomatoes are gone. He actually believes heirloom tomatoes chose him to help keep them remain relevant and available. North Carolina’s range of climate affects how different varieties will grow. Two NC companies are making salt a local commodity, The Rev. Make Salsa: Chop 1 green onion (both white and green parts) per each diced tomato… "Epic Tomatoes" - by Craig LeHoullier Savor your best tomato harvest ever! Tomato varieties that produce medium size fruit are generally easier to grow in the south than extra large beefsteak types. He started releasing the new varieties around 2010, and currently 123 different varieties have resulted from the Dwarf Tomato Project. Still, he loves working with heirlooms, and he loves sharing what he’s learned with others. “This is the tomato’s time. He has a website too where he shares the joys of his gardening passion. The Sun Gold tops his list of favorites. Craig has written two gardening books (“ Epic Tomatoes ” and “ Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales ”), with a third forthcoming, on dwarf tomatoes. These are the plants on the front porch. Tags: vegetables, fruit, garden, gardening * * * * It's time to start planning your summer garden! Based in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, we reach millions of North Carolina citizens each year through local centers in the state's 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The Tomato Festival’s grand finale – The Acme Tomato & Wine Dinner. They offer an incredible diversity of subtle nuances in taste. “This is the tomato’s time. “I’m happy to be an ambassador for tomatoes. …but he never even ate a tomato until he was a teenager. “My grandfather’s tomato kind of captivated my taste buds,” he said. She also compiles a list of heirlooms that performed well in her garden the previous year. He hopes the varieties he’s bred will be the heirlooms of tomorrow. I’m kind of a foodie [for tomatoes], like people who enjoy different coffees or teas.”. Although my expertise is in heirloom tomatoes, I love to grow everything - vegetables, flowers, and herbs, in as many ways as possible. “Five or six [of those] won’t do well, but three or four will be outstanding.”, For NC gardens he recommends: “Cherokee Purple” (which he had the honor of naming), “Red Brandywine” and “Andrew Rahart’s Jumbo Red”; hybrids “Sun Gold,” “Big Beef” and “Lemon Boy”; and dwarf varieties “Sweet Sue” and “Blazing Beauty.”. But that's mostly because of SPLAT (South Carolina Piedmont Lycopersicum Annual Tasting), aka the big tomato-tasting party that Winn and his wife, Karen, host every July in his 3-acre garden in Little Mountain, South Carolina. The NC Tomato Man! And, yes, he’s great and fun and happy to answer all your tomato queries. That love affair has brought LeHoullier to what he describes as a sort of calling – a purpose in life, or at least a passion. But it felt like the right time to start anew. He then sent the seeds to his friend Jeff McCormack, owner of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Charlottesville, Va. “I’m not like many heirloom people who look down on hybrids. Much success in growing tomatoes can be attributed to use of a few proven techniques. He’s also become a sought-after speaker about gardening, and he’s written two books titled Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales (both from Storey Publishing). “It has all felt like a natural progression and felt like the right thing that I should be doing.”, © 2015, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He saved the seeds and named the tomato the Cherokee Purple. “I’m happy to be an ambassador for tomatoes. He speaks at gardening shows and events, but don’t expect formal lectures. He developed an interest in finding rare varieties of plants and keeping them from becoming extinct. Dr. LeHoullier, tomato adviser for Seed Savers Exchange, offers everything a tomato enthusiast needs to know about growing more than 200 varieties of tomatoes — from sowing seeds and planting to cultivating and collecting seeds at the end of the season. The North Carolina “Tomato Man,” Craig LeHoullier, will be speaking at the Ball Visitor Center at the Sandhills Community College Horticultural Gardens, at 1 p.m. Friday, March 29. Craig gives several gardening talks in NC each year. 39 were here. Victory Seed Company has committed to selling all the varieties from the project. Now that man orders those tomato seeds, named Cancelmo Family Heirloom, each year and sends them to his extended family at Christmas. …but he never even ate a tomato until he was a teenager. The far left plant is the one I am growning for NC Tomato Man. To keep deer from devouring his garden, Craig uses two water scarecrows. Check out the new book from our good friend . NC Tomato Man, Craig LeHoullier Getting Dirty in Your Garden Extension Master Gardener Radio Show and Podcast Tune in for expert advise on selecting and growing tomatoes in North Carolina. Problem solved. “My grandfather and father cared enough about me to show me how to garden, so what I’m doing is just a way to pay it forward,” LeHoullier said. Raleigh's Craig LeHoullier, aka NC Tomato Man, shows how to make stoplight salsa. Most of the ones he’s worked on with an Australian friend, and their team of more than 700 amateur volunteers from across the world, are dwarf varieties aimed at being more manageable for people growing tomatoes in smaller spaces. It’s an odd fact in a love affair that certainly didn’t begin with love at first sight. For squirrels he recommends installing bird feeders and a birdbath. Friday July 28th 7-9pm Seeds on 36th: Urban Farm Store. There’s always something new to see and something new to share,” LeHoullier said. That was 1981, and he didn’t start dabbling in heirloom tomatoes until 1986. TomatoMan® Where science and old world horticulture come together. Video by Andrea Weigl, aweigl@newsobserver.com . 2. Margaret Buranen writes from her home in Kentucky. Close up of the ‘experimental plant’. Gardening, for me, is a lifelong passion. And, yes, Craig is the man who discovered the famed Cherokee Purple tomato that is sold in farmers’ markets nationwide. “The birds drop seed that the squirrels eat, and they can get water from the birdbath,” he advises. He admits he assumed tomatoes must be “horrendous” until he eventually tried one from his grandfather’s garden. The NC Tomato Man! Sudden changes in soil moisture can cause concentric cracks to form around the top of tomato fruits. I always know where he is. They offer an incredible diversity of subtle nuances in taste. “Heirlooms never pretend to be the type of tomato that you can ship off to a market and sit there and be pretty and be good enough to eat a week from now. Growing tomatoes in the coastal South is always a gamble. He now has about 50,000 to 60,000 seed packets, vials or envelopes, plus every letter sent to him along with the seeds. Green had gotten the seeds from a friend whose family had acquired them from Cherokees in the area many decades earlier. Otherwise, many of those old tomato varieties may have been lost forever when no one decided to grow them anymore or pass down their seeds. No gardeners in history have ever had so many tomato varieties to choose from,” Craig says. The green beans are on pots below the porch. Craig estimates that over the years he has tasted about 4,000 different types of tomatoes. Joining Seed Savers in 1986 (seedsavers.org) took Craig beyond basic gardening. I don’t take the responsibility lightly, and I’m in a great position to help people,” LeHoullier said. “Tomatoes are approaching roses in terms of getting them to succeed everywhere,” he says, “but every disease, [type of] weather, humidity and critter seems to affect tomatoes.”, Because not all tomato varieties will thrive everywhere, he always advises gardeners to have an open mind. Be sure, also, to sample some of … “Also, you can’t be a seed saver and share with hybrids.”. As a child, Craig LeHoullier really disliked tomatoes. When he and his wife moved to Hendersonville in January, they had about 25 boxes of tomato seeds. “We ended up making friends for life from our plant sales,” LeHoullier said. Becoming a guardian of more heirlooms Lots of similar stories have followed since then. That much sampling has taught him that there is no correlation between a tomato’s taste and color. “I don’t tell people what to do, I show them what I do, and then they blend in my practices with theirs.”. The afternoon tomato tastings and how may adjectives can we come up with to describe tomato flavors. ... Durham County Library Hosts NC Tomato Man and Author Craig LeHoullier. It just took several years for that love to grow and eventually bloom. Being married to Craig, my best friend and affectionately know as NC Tomato Man, has its advantages: 1. “I think it’s a great tribute to these people’s families that people can read the stories of these great varieties,” LeHoullier said. - Page 2 Every year, Lisa Merrell saves seed from her tomatoes and sells plants of open-pollinated varieties of tomatoes and peppers. Within reason, of course. Craig LeHoullier shares his advice for four easy tomato preparations to enjoy now and later. 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