Last time Sue and I were on cross country skis in a big snowstorm in Raleigh 24 years ago

January is done, all gone in the blink of an eye. That’s 8.3% of 2024 now behind us. The weather here has been pretty consistently cold and wet - no snow (sadly), but it certainly feels better to be snuggled indoors. Growing season is right around the corner, though - that is clear from the new growth on the hellebores and the emerging growing tips of tulips and daffodils, and swelling buds on the quince bushes.

Here’s a series of updates on topics noted in the blog header

Satisfying all seed requests. All done! My 2023 seed request folder is empty. My seed supply is now uniformly very low. I won’t be able to fill any seed requests until the coming fall - and it will be much, much smaller due to the low number of tomato plants I will be growing this year. For all those who got (or will soon be getting) seeds from me, any donations you would like to make are welcome - the donate button at this link goes to Paypal.
Gardening thoughts for the coming year: Our garden will be very different from nearly all other gardens. The goal is 12 tomato plants - 12 tomato varieties. I haven’t completely settled on the varieties, but Cherokee Purple, Captain Lucky and Sun Gold will be three of them. I think I will skip bell peppers and have just Shishito and a Jalapeno. There are likely to be two eggplants. There will be cucumbers, and lots of bush snap beans. I am pondering having ONE tomato plant per straw bale to maximize production. This would all add up to 20 straw bales total. To get things started, I hope to get some greens seeds started indoors soon. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will be seeded on March 1, with a target plant out date of May 1. I hope to get straw bales conditioning in early April.
Gardening at the Veterans Healing Farm: Recent news is that the Farm has to relocate. We will not have access to the greenhouse, but will instead put the tomatoes in the flag garden on the other side of Shaw Creek. My tomato team is intact from last year, and I will be gathering them soon to plan things out. We will plant in straw bales, and my latest thoughts are 10 varieties, 6 plants each - about half of last year’s plant and variety number.

Digging in the garden with my dad Wilfred in West Chester, PA, 34 years ago. This was the garden that I first grew the unnamed purple heirloom sent to me that I named Cherokee Purple.

Finally, below is the latest event schedule - it has been growing over the last few weeks. I am not sure which of these may be open for registration beyond the organizing group, but will let you know as each approaches.

January 16 - WI MG Zoom, topic Strawbale and container gardening, 7:30 PM eastern (closed event, no wider attendance possible) (completed)
January 18 - The Growing Space podcast recording (my friend Erin Hostetler, The Patio Gardener’s new podcast) - I’ll let you know when this runs and how to listen (recorded - will air in the spring - more info to follow)
February 3 - central IL MG Zoom on Tomatoes - time - 10 AM eastern - closed event, no wider attendance possible) (completed)
February 10 - Greater Greenville (SC) MG SC symposium - giving two talks (tomatoes and containers/strawbales). Event requires registration - see the link. It is apparently sold out. (completed)
February 21 - 56th Annual Winter Vegetable Conference, Asheville NC - Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project - Event requires registration - see the link. (completed)
February 21 - Hardy Plant Society, mid Atlantic group Zoom, talking tomatoes, 6:30 PM. Not open for others to join (completed)
March 4 - Peters Township Public Library, McMurray PA Zoom - straw bale and container gardening - 6 PM. Not sure if it is open for others to join.
March 16 - Veterans Healing Farm, History of Gardening in America - 10 AM, Johnson Farm off of Haywood Road
March 19 - Hendersonville Public Library - Gardening with Containers and Strawbales - 5:30 PM, free
March 20 - Sonoma County CA MG Zoom - tomatoes - 8 PM eastern. Not sure if others can join.
March 27 - Sow True Seeds - containers and straw bales - 5 PM - I will post registration link when available.
April 5 - Veterans Healing Farm - Strawbales and containers, at the farm on Yale Road - more info to follow
April 5 - Tomato Talk - live discussion at 7 PM eastern.
April 6 - Central Oregon MG Zoom - tomatoes - 1 PM Oregon time, 4 PM eastern. Not sure if others can join.
April 8 - VA Beach MG Zoom - tomatoes - time TBD. Not sure if others can join.
April 20 - Morganton - containers and straw bales - much more info to come
May 14 -Veterans Healing Farm - tomatoes - Yale Road location - more info to follow
September 12 - Brevard train depot, strawbales and containers - more info to follow
October 9 - WNC MG Symposium - Hendersonville - tomatoes; time TBD.
I am also working on an article for The American Gardener on tomato staking and pruning that will run in the spring.

Possible participation in other podcasts, such as Joe Lamp’l, possible additional workshops at Sow True Seeds, and unforeseen requests are all possible - check back for updates.

As for the Dwarf Tomato Project book, now that seed requests are fulfilled, I hope to dive into that project very soon. I want to write it (I NEED to write it), and it will get done - eventually. I plan to self publish the book.

On into February we all go! Keep following my Instagram posts (@nctomatoman), and keep reading my blog. I should start Instagram Live sessions some time in March. Any questions - just shoot me an email - nctomatoman@gmail.com - and I do read and respond to comments on this blog.