Craig LeHoullier invites you to buckle up and travel with him through his decades living amongst his passion, growing tomatoes, in his talk “Epic Tomatoes from YOUR Garden – some history, stories, and tips and tricks for success”.
Packed with photos from his various gardens, Craig will spend the first half talking about the tomatoes themselves, providing all you will need to plan your own successful tomato adventure. After a question break, Craig will return to share how to make it all happen, from planting seeds to harvesting and saving seeds, including different ways to grow your crop – traditional garden or raised bed, container or straw bales – ending with some favorite recipes. Be sure to have all of your tomato growing questions ready.
Program cost is $35. Due to technological constraints, the webinar has a limit of 100 attendees. Only registrants can access the live session. Once the live session has reached capacity, a recorded version will be available for purchase.
Closed captioning will be provided. There will be a short break at approximately 11 am. The webinar will end at 12:00 pm.
You can submit questions during the webinar and get answers live as time allows. Afterward, questions that don’t make it to the webinar will receive emailed answers.
Craig LeHoullier lives and gardens in Hendersonville, North Carolina (as of January 2020; prior to that, he and his wife and pets resided in Raleigh, NC, for 28 years). A Rhode Island native, he caught the gardening passion from his grandfather, Walter, and dad, Wilfred. Craig achieved his PhD in chemistry at Dartmouth College, which resulted in a 25 year career in pharmaceuticals that ended in 2008.
Craig’s gardening obsession, which started the year he and Susan were married (and their first garden, in 1981), is passing through several stages. His love of heirloom tomatoes began with his joining the Seed Savers Exchange, an organization for which he continues to serve as adviser for tomatoes, in 1986. He is responsible for naming and popularizing many well known tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purple.
In 2005 he added amateur tomato breeding to his garden resume, and continues to co-lead the Dwarf Tomato Breeding project, responsible for creating 125 (and counting) new compact growing varieties for space-challenged gardeners. His writing career kicked off with a 2012 request from Storey Publishing to write a book on tomatoes, resulting in Epic Tomatoes (2015). His second book, Growing Vegetables in Straw bales, soon followed (2016). Book 3, focusing on the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, is in progress.
Craig is a popular lecturer across the country at major gardening events, as well as a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows. His current and upcoming projects include a self-published garden cook book, a weekly Instagram Live each Friday at 3 PM Eastern from his garden, and additional opportunities on podcasts, webinars and speaking opportunities, as they arise.
The 2021 Educational Webinar Program Calendar
Buy From Drought to Deluge: The Resilient Central Texas Garden directly from Travis County Master Gardeners
Buy Epic Tomatoes directly from Craig LeHoullier
Sign up for Travis County Horticulture Event Notifications
Monthly Gardening Calendar for the Austin Area