His Tomato Collection Is At 5,000 Strong And Still Growing
Craig LeHoullier doesn’t just like tomatoes. He lives tomatoes. He has more than 5,000 varieties and more come in all the time. Many of them are heirloom tomatoes that people have saved for years and then decided to send to The Tomato Man, as he’s known.
“I caught the heirloom bug in 1986 and became fascinated by them,” says LeHoullier. “People send me their family heirlooms, and sometimes I get to shepherd someone’s family treasure into the public domain. The joy of people seeing their heirloom in a seed catalog is so fulfilling.”
The first time that happened was in 1990. He was sent tomato seeds that had originally come from Cherokees in Tennessee more than a century earlier.
He grew out the seeds, tasted the tomato and named it Cherokee Purple for its heritage and purple tones. Based on taste alone, he soon had seeds on their way to friends like Mike Dunton, Victory Seeds, Molalla, Ore.
With LeHoullier’s recommendation, they tried it and quickly added the new old varietal to listings. Nearly 30 years later, it is one of the most popular heirlooms in the market.
This FARM SHOW writer understands why. It is a mainstay in our garden and a frequent visitor to our dinner table. It’s a super flavorful, full-bodied tomato that will never make the grade on looks alone. With its often green shoulders, various color shades and somewhat rough shape, it is far from the classic, red, round tomato, but it tastes great!
LeHoullier didn’t make a dime on the popularity of the tomato, which is the way he likes it. A retired chemist, he works with tomatoes for the love of the old varietals and their stories and the love of the people he meets. His book “Epic Tomatoes” has become a classic for gardeners. He travels the country giving speeches and visiting gardens, spreading the word about heirloom seeds.
At home, he grows tomatoes, peppers and other plants, but mostly tomatoes. His collection keeps growing because people keep sending him family heirlooms.
Once those seeds are planted and the tomatoes harvested, seeds go into numbered envelopes and vials. Detailed descriptions of the seed, the plant and the fruit, as well as the story that went with it, are entered on spreadsheets. About every 14 to 15 years, a variety gets replanted to renew viability.
Each year LeHoullier plants as many as 5,000 seedlings of up to 200 different tomato varieties. He sells around 1,000 of them at farmers’ markets, plants some of each himself and gives the rest away. Of the different varieties, 10 to 15 are family favorites, a few more are recent heirloom arrivals and the remainder are a mix of renewal seeds from the collection and those from a side project...dwarf heirlooms.
“For the past 14 years or so, I’ve been involved in a breeding project with some wonderful people around the world,” says LeHoullier.
Dwarf tomatoes first showed up in the mid to late 1850’s, but not a lot was done to improve flavor. LeHoullier and his friends have been crossing them with heirlooms.
“A lot of people want to grow tomatoes on their deck or patio, but they don’t want an heirloom that will grow to 10 to 12 ft. tall,” says LeHoullier. “We now have 106 dwarf varieties that will grow to about 4 ft. and produce flavorful heirloom tomatoes. In a few years we will be up to 150 or so.”
Like the Cherokee Purple, the dwarf tomato project is a grass roots effort with not a penny of support or profit to be had.
Houllier says he has been surprised at the interest he’s received in the project.
“We got lucky playing in a playground where no one else has been,” he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Craig LeHoullier, 1413 Acres Way, Raleigh, N.C. 27614 (nctomatoman@gmail.com; craiglehoullier.com).
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His Tomato Collection Is At 5 000 Strong And Still Growing FARM HOME Food Craig LeHoullier doesn’t just like tomatoes He lives tomatoes He has more than 5 000 varieties and more come in all the time Many of them are heirloom tomatoes that people have saved for years and then decided to send to The Tomato Man as he’s known “I caught the heirloom bug in 1986 and became fascinated by them ” says LeHoullier “People send me their family heirlooms and sometimes I get to shepherd someone’s family treasure into the public domain The joy of people seeing their heirloom in a seed catalog is so fulfilling ” The first time that happened was in 1990 He was sent tomato seeds that had originally come from Cherokees in Tennessee more than a century earlier He grew out the seeds tasted the tomato and named it Cherokee Purple for its heritage and purple tones Based on taste alone he soon had seeds on their way to friends like Mike Dunton Victory Seeds Molalla Ore With LeHoullier’s recommendation they tried it and quickly added the new old varietal to listings Nearly 30 years later it is one of the most popular heirlooms in the market This FARM SHOW writer understands why It is a mainstay in our garden and a frequent visitor to our dinner table It’s a super flavorful full-bodied tomato that will never make the grade on looks alone With its often green shoulders various color shades and somewhat rough shape it is far from the classic red round tomato but it tastes great! LeHoullier didn’t make a dime on the popularity of the tomato which is the way he likes it A retired chemist he works with tomatoes for the love of the old varietals and their stories and the love of the people he meets His book “Epic Tomatoes” has become a classic for gardeners He travels the country giving speeches and visiting gardens spreading the word about heirloom seeds At home he grows tomatoes peppers and other plants but mostly tomatoes His collection keeps growing because people keep sending him family heirlooms Once those seeds are planted and the tomatoes harvested seeds go into numbered envelopes and vials Detailed descriptions of the seed the plant and the fruit as well as the story that went with it are entered on spreadsheets About every 14 to 15 years a variety gets replanted to renew viability Each year LeHoullier plants as many as 5 000 seedlings of up to 200 different tomato varieties He sells around 1 000 of them at farmers’ markets plants some of each himself and gives the rest away Of the different varieties 10 to 15 are family favorites a few more are recent heirloom arrivals and the remainder are a mix of renewal seeds from the collection and those from a side project dwarf heirlooms “For the past 14 years or so I’ve been involved in a breeding project with some wonderful people around the world ” says LeHoullier Dwarf tomatoes first showed up in the mid to late 1850’s but not a lot was done to improve flavor LeHoullier and his friends have been crossing them with heirlooms “A lot of people want to grow tomatoes on their deck or patio but they don’t want an heirloom that will grow to 10 to 12 ft tall ” says LeHoullier “We now have 106 dwarf varieties that will grow to about 4 ft and produce flavorful heirloom tomatoes In a few years we will be up to 150 or so ” Like the Cherokee Purple the dwarf tomato project is a grass roots effort with not a penny of support or profit to be had Houllier says he has been surprised at the interest he’s received in the project “We got lucky playing in a playground where no one else has been ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Craig LeHoullier 1413 Acres Way Raleigh N C 27614 nctomatoman@gmail com; craiglehoullier com
