Gardening in winter hardly seems ideal to those of us in cold climates, but for Craig LeHoullier, the season of snow brings the first opportunity to plan his summer tomato crop.
A tomato adviser for Seed Savers Exchange and author of the book "Epic Tomatoes: How to Select & Grow the Best Varieties of All Time," LeHoullier is an expert in the field, having developed, introduced and named almost 200 tomato varieties.
Over the past 30 years, LeHoullier has brought a number of heirloom tomato varieties back from the brink of extinction. Perhaps his most notable contribution is the Cherokee Purple, a tomato that came to him as an envelope of seeds sent by John D Green and is now one of the most popular varieties in the Seed Exchange catalog.
LeHoullier's love for heirloom tomatoes began as a hobby, but after retiring from his career as a chemist and project manager in the pharmaceutical industry in 2007, this passion blossomed into a second career. LeHoullier lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, Susan, and is known within the heirloom tomato community as NCTomatoMan.
I caught up with LeHoullier before the launch of his book tour and got his advice on how to successfully grow heirloom tomatoes in my own backyard.
Winter Gardening: Prime Time For Research
LeHoullier says he gets about a monthlong break between digging up the last of his dead tomato plants each fall and the appearance of the first seed catalogs, when the real work of planning the garden begins. This lull in the action is prime time for research.
Online sites such as Dave's Garden, Tomatoville and GardenWeb can provide a good starting point for new gardeners. LeHoullier recommends searching for "garden discussion groups," "tomato discussion groups" and "top 10 tomatoes" to begin your reading.
Determine Your Gardening Goals
LeHoullier points out that gardening is a personal experience and that "Each one of us will choose how much of our lives we'll pour into it." Growing great tomatoes requires figuring out what kind of gardener you are or would like to be.
LeHoullier suggests that you think about what you want to get out of your tomato garden. Before you place your seed order, consider whether you want to garden because you want to grow food; because it's a good hobby to work off a few extra pounds; or because you want to use it as a teaching tool for your friends, family or children.
Ask yourself: Do I want a high yield? Am I looking for huge tomatoes to impress my friends? Do I want an incredible flavor experience? Or do I want to grow something that I've never seen before? The answer to these questions will help you focus your research on the tomato varieties that suit your gardening goals.
Figure Out What Kind Of Tomatoes You Like To Eat
Tomatoes come in a wide variety of colors, flavors and sizes. Most of us have not tried many of the thousands of tomato varieties that exist in the world. LeHoullier believes that the best way to know which tomatoes you should grow is to decide which tomatoes you'd like to eat. Visit farmers markets and stores such as Whole Foods to try tomato varieties you've never eaten and notice which flavor profiles excite you.
Get To Know Your Gardening Climate
Epic Tomatoes
Understanding your growing season is crucial. If you live in a warm climate where summer lasts more than 150 days, then the maturity date doesn't matter much. But if you're in a colder climate, pay close attention to the maturity date of the tomatoes you want to grow. Talk to friends in your neighborhood who are avid gardeners and vendors at local farmers markets to see which tomato varieties grow best for them.
Seeds vs Seedlings
LeHoullier says that "At a basic level, people will want to understand that growing tomatoes from seed opens up the world for you to try different colors, sizes and shapes." That said, starting tomatoes from seeds can be a tricky proposition. Consider your capabilities and experience with growing tomatoes from seed. If your tolerance for failure is low, begin by planting seedlings.
Hybrids vs Heirlooms
Although LeHoullier says he "won't make the blanket statement that some make that heirlooms are always more disease susceptible and difficult to grow than hybrids," he does allow that heirlooms can be finicky and that "every tomato including the hybrid varieties has its own personality and foibles."
Start Small (Do as I say, not as I do.)
After you've familiarized yourself with the seemingly endless choices in the tomato world, it's time to get planting. Showing restraint is key, especially for new gardeners.
Raising thousands of tomato varieties isn't for everyone. (Or in fact, for most people.) LeHoullier cautions new growers to start small, in spite of the fact that he has a huge and ever-growing tomato collection. LeHoullier identifies himself as a "hobby collector" he's into beer brewing, roasting his own coffee, bird watching, kayaking, and has countless other hobbies in addition to what he calls "the tomato thing." He describes himself as a "seeker who is never satisfied." It is this tendency that has led LeHoullier to raise a collection of tomatoes that now hits the 3,000 mark.
One reason that LeHoullier's collection has grown so large is that he has inherited the collections of gardeners who have become overwhelmed. "People send me entire collections because they can't take care of them."
Disappointment Is An Opportunity For Learning
A scientist by training and experience, LeHoullier sees gardening as "an exciting hobby to learn stuff" and reminds us that "Each year, X number of plants are gonna die. Critters are gonna eat another bunch of plants, but that's great because we learn from it and the next year we try different things to avoid that problem, knowing that other problems will arise."
The Bottom Line
LeHoullier asserts some basic goals: Do a lot of searching. Ask a lot of questions. Make an accurate assessment of your interest level.
Taste every tomato you can get your hands on. Recognize that there aren't a lot of hard and fast answers to gardening questions.
There are just, as LeHoullier says, "an infinite number of variables for every act a gardener takes."
Perhaps most important, LeHoullier cheers us on in our tomato-growing efforts by reminding us that, "If you can find them, and buy them, and taste them, and like them, there's no reason you can't grow them."
