Seedy Saturday - Epic Tomatoes!
So I figured out it has been about 20 years since I met Craig Lehoullier, aka NCTomatoMan. He introduced me to heirloom tomatoes and I have been a fan ever since. If you know about Brandywine or Cherokee Purple tomatoes, then you know him.
The fun part is that he has a daughter who has the same name as Texter. AND Texter was about the same age as Lady K is now the first time we ran into him at the Farmer's Market in Raleigh on a Saturday morning.
We might only meet up for a few minutes once a year, but have stayed in touch, on and off, over the years. I have tried out some of the tomatoes and peppers which were experimental at the time.
He and his wife, Sue, moved the first of the year from Raleigh to Hendersonville. Thursday, I loaded up with Texter and Lady K for the two hour drive to pick up my seedlings I wanted and those I am going to trial for him.
For years he grew hundreds (maybe even over a thousand) seedlings on his driveway. So much hasn't changed with the move. Except he does have a bit more room here, both in the driveway and the yard.
Lady K spent the time chasing his two-year-old lab mix, Marlin, around the yard. She would throw the stick and then they would run around the yard having a great time. Lady K was so happy to be outside and running around.
One thing I love about this is who else has variegated foliage on tomatoes and sweet peppers available for sale? Yet!
Better yet, I got to replace my copy of his first book, Epic Tomatoes! My original copy was a victim of the house fire and a Kindle version just isn't as satisfying as the real thing.
This time my copy is autographed!
The fun part is that he has a daughter who has the same name as Texter. AND Texter was about the same age as Lady K is now the first time we ran into him at the Farmer's Market in Raleigh on a Saturday morning.
We might only meet up for a few minutes once a year, but have stayed in touch, on and off, over the years. I have tried out some of the tomatoes and peppers which were experimental at the time.
He and his wife, Sue, moved the first of the year from Raleigh to Hendersonville. Thursday, I loaded up with Texter and Lady K for the two hour drive to pick up my seedlings I wanted and those I am going to trial for him.
For years he grew hundreds (maybe even over a thousand) seedlings on his driveway. So much hasn't changed with the move. Except he does have a bit more room here, both in the driveway and the yard.
Lady K spent the time chasing his two-year-old lab mix, Marlin, around the yard. She would throw the stick and then they would run around the yard having a great time. Lady K was so happy to be outside and running around.
One thing I love about this is who else has variegated foliage on tomatoes and sweet peppers available for sale? Yet!
Better yet, I got to replace my copy of his first book, Epic Tomatoes! My original copy was a victim of the house fire and a Kindle version just isn't as satisfying as the real thing.
This time my copy is autographed!
So while the weather has turned really cool - darn Polar Vortex! But my little seedlings are still small so I am not worried about getting them into a pot until the end of next week when the weather is supposed to heat up and I am off work again.
Two of the seedlings are known to me already, Brandywine and Cherokee Green, but the others will be surprises. The rest of the tomatoes are actually part of the Dwarf Tomatoes he has been working on for several years.
So stay tuned for updates on my 'new' babies and how they turn out over the summer.
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