Tomatopalooza™ 
Please visit Contact page and tell us your impressions of the day!



Sadly, Tomatopalooza X has come and gone.....but what a great time it was, thanks to our hosts, Jimmy and Fred, and for the help of so many people - and all of the tomatoes and edibles supplied by many of volunteers and attendees.  Check out all of the highlights and news items below, check out the Blog page, where attendees are sharing how the day went for them....the Photos page (which will be populated with more and more pics as we receive them), and the Recipe page for...well, recipes!

SALSA CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

  • Best Fruit Salsa - Watermelon Salsa (made by Sara LeHoullier)
  • Best Traditional Salsa - Hot Tomato Salsa (made by Cris)
  • Best Overall Salsa - Lili's Luscious Pear Sweet and Spicy Salsa (made by Jodi, Dean, and Lili Grubbs of Garner, NC)

Best tasting tomato results:
  • Shannon's and Mexico Midget (tied at 5 votes each) 
  • Cossack Pineapple and Dester Amish (4 votes each)
  • Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple, and Sungold Hybrid (3 votes each) Anna Russian, German Queen, Orange Heirloom, and Strawberry Margarita (2 votes each) 
  • and another 24 varieties with 1 vote each (including a number of dwarfs). 
Most unusual tomato results:
  • Cossack Pineapple (again...and actually a Ground Cherry) 
  • Goldie (another Ground Cherry)
  • Garden Peach
  • Mexico Midget
  • Green Zebra
  • Uluru Ochre (one of our upcoming new Dwarf varieties - the very first tomato that is a black/orange!) 

Background Information - about Tomatopalooza, and Date/Time/Location info for Tomatopalooza X

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This celebration of heirlooms was conceived by Craig LeHoullier, nationally-known as an expert in the history and variety of old-timey tomatoes, and Lee Newman, one of Craig's very first tomato seedling customers. Craig and Lee thought that it would be fun to bring local heirloom tomato growers together to share tomatoes and taste opinions.  (Craig and his wife Susan have been selling tomato seedlings as From The Vine at the NC State Farmers Market in Raleigh each spring for the past 15 years). The annual celebration of Tomatopalooza gives people a chance to learn about our rich horticultural heritage while munching on mouth-watering varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation, linking our past to our future.


Saturday, July 28
1-4pm Tomato Tasting
4-6pm Music and Clogging   

Hosts:  Craig LeHoullier and Lee Newman, with the gracious location hosts Jimmy Holcomb and Fred Stewart