Keeping up with tomato news...

07/08/2011

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This is on my news page, but I suspect not everyone reads it...so today's blog is the current tomato news!

Sue and I attended the first Tomato Dinner at Zely and Ritz this past week - see the menu and schedule here.  I will definitely be at the dinner with my daughter Sara on August 3....and not available (out of town) for the July 14 dinner.  We are not sure about July 20 or 26.

This Sunday - July 10, I will be back on the radio talking with Niki Jabbour about tomatoes - 10:30 - 11 EST - you can listen live at the link here.  We will be focusing on tomato care/troubleshooting, and progress on the season.

Then....I will be participating at A Southern Season cooking school on this coming Tuesday evening, July 12, at 6 PM - info can be found here.  Marilyn at the school tells me there are still open spots.  They are great fun, the facility there is incredible - and the food will be wonderful!  People have a chance to hear about what Alex (Peregrine Farms) and I are up to and have plenty of opportunities to ask questions.  I expect to bring some tomatoes from my garden with me to discuss and taste as well!  Please go to the link and sign up....hope to see you there!

Finally, I will be in Decorah Iowa speaking at the annual Seed Savers Exchange campout - info can be found here.  I will be speaking on some of the "new" heirlooms I've been fortunate enough to either name, distribute, discover or help create!  These can be thought of as "tomorrow's heirlooms" - the ones our grand kids will consider to be heirlooms!

Following that, we have Tomatopalooza 8, on Saturday July 23!  Information can be found here.

And in between and after these activities, I hope to keep tending the garden, saving seed, and hopefully, canning as many quarts as we can manage!

Already counting the weeks and days until our two weeks at Ocracoke Island in October!

Just a reminder that you can now follow me on Twitter -  @nctomatoman 
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...always sorry to see such an enjoyable weekend come to an end!

07/26/2010

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I can't believe that I am using the word "enjoyable" to describe a weekend where the daytime temps hit over 100 degrees and there was a perceptive shortage of breathable air outside!  And part of the weekend was even spent out in that sultry air....


But on Saturday, after a wonderful meal with my daughter Caitlin at our favorite local Italian restaurant (Bella Monica), she and I saw an iconic North Carolina band - the Red Clay Ramblers - at the North Carolina Museum of Art.  With my wife Sue having a blast in Hershey, PA with her "quilt chicks", it was a great opportunity to spend some time with Caitlin (and gave her a wonderful opportunity to tell me all of the things that drive her crazy about her boyfriend!  What are fathers for, anyway??).  After eating outdoors, then attending the outdoor concert, we returned home somewhat melted but quite satisfied for having a memorable evening together.


Sunday was very cool indeed (well, it was as hot as hell, to tell the truth).  But in the morning I got to spend half an hour on the air with a Halifax Nova Scotia radio station, talking tomatoes and answering questions during Niki Jabbour's Sunday show.  It's amazing to experience 30 minutes in what seems to be about 5 seconds!  


Then I got to do another of my favorite activities - participate in a cooking class at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill.  What a joy to be able to share my passion with an equally passionate audience, sharing information and stories with Alex Hitt (of Peregrine Farms), and Marilyn Markel (who manages the cooking school).  With Sue away, I asked our friend Margie to come along, guaranteeing a friendly face in the audience (all of the faces were friendly, to tell the truth!).  In an incredible coincidence, it turns out that Alex was perhaps the first grower in North Carolina to grow and sell Cherokee Purple tomatoes at the Carrboro Farmers market.  So he and I knew well of each other, but didn't actually meet until just a few years ago.  He and his wife are just wonderful people, and I always look forward to opportunities to work together.  


Then, to cap off the weekend, Sue pulled into the driveway just behind me, home from her own enjoyable trip safe and sound.  A beer and a grilled cheese with a slab of Cherokee Green later, we shared stories and reflected on our weekends....each happy doing our things, now happy to be together again






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Busy day ahead....good day to NOT be outside (103 deg?!)

07/25/2010

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Sure, the lawn needs mowing and weeds need whacking, but today is going to be just plain silly.  Even at 7 AM, when I collected the paper, it is stifling outside.  Right now it is approaching 8 AM and the temperature (82) and humidity (87) are combining to make it feel like 92 degrees.  


No worries - today I have my occasional spot with Niki Jabbour on a Nova Scotia gardening show (you can listen live, at 10:30 EST, here http://www.news957.com/  - topics will be tomato progress for the season so far, and answering any questions that come in)......

Then, at 2 PM, another Southern Season cooking class (there is a description of the class here - https://www.southernseason.com/class/event.asp?id=19267 ), where Alex Hitt (of Peregrine Farms) and I will be talking tomatoes while Marilyn Markel creates some tomato dishes.  Unfortunately, I will have no tomatoes of my own to contribute, thanks to this weird, difficult growing season.

To include a bit more about gardening in today's blog, here is another garden update video from July 17 - this one shows how my indeterminate tomatoes are doing.

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Please check the NCTomatoNews page....snippets below.

07/20/2010

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There are a number of items I would like to draw your attention to.


The first, and by far most important,  is about ways to help out Hamid and Holly Mohajer - Hamid is now facing a major health challenge.  Please see this link - 


http://www.friendsforhamid.com/


there is much more on my News page.  Anyone who has met Holly or Hamid, or who has eaten a wonderful meal at Mo's Diner will certainly want to pitch in and help in any way that they can.  Sue and I hope to see you at one of the upcoming events that are scheduled.


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Next - we are approaching Tomatopalooza time - the event, on Saturday, July 31, is being run a bit differently this year - we are asking people to register.  Please see our website for more details.  If you do plan to come, this is a plea for....TOMATOES!  We always worry about running short, and with this being such a strange growing season, it is unclear what Lee and I will have ripe and ready for the event.


http://tomatopalooza.com/


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Then, there is the A Southern Season Cooking School this coming Sunday, July 25 - these are always wonderful events.  You can get more info and register at this link


https://www.southernseason.com/class/event.asp?id=19267


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And, finally, I will once again be on a Nova Scotia, Canada garden call in show - on Sunday, July 25, from 10:30-11 EST - you can listen live at the link below.


http://www.news957.com/


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Just kidding - one more thing!  Sue and I will be at the Zely and Ritz tomato dinner tonight - link below for more info.


http://www.zelyandritz.com/special_events_offers.html


I think that is it (and is certainly enough!).



















































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I'm on the radio on Sunday morning....listen in!

06/05/2010

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http://www.news957.com/


Go to the link above and choose to listen live at 11 - 11:30 AM EST.  I am humbled to have an opportunity to answer questions on a Sunday garden show called The Weekend Gardener, out of Halifax, Nova Scotia.  I was fortunate to do several of these last year, and it is great fun!  


This is Niki's garden blog -http://yearroundveggiegardener.blogspot.com



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