Tomatomania!
Your guide to perfect home grown tomatoes.
By Scott Daigre

This 40 page book is full of tips and information about growing tomatoes. From choosing the right variety all the way to eating it, Scott lets you know what works and what doesn’t.

Listen to the entire interview on KCRW here.

Scott Daigre on Tomato Strategy
Scott Daigre is the founder of Tomatomania. The tomato extravaganza is back and bigger than ever, so this year and he suggests a few tomato strategies that will prevent the home gardener from being overwhelmed. If you know what you want from your tomato plants you can plan ahead. He recommends:

For abundance and flavor:
Stupice
Sungella
Green Doctors
Vorlon
Thessaloniki

For the perfect BLT:
Ananas Noire
Vorlon
any tomatoes in the black tomato family

For canning and roasting:
Amish Paste (beware production may lag)
Oxheart
Strawberry

To win a beauty contest:
Black Creme
Cherokee Purple

Owners and chefs Julia and Melissa have been terrific and we’re very grateful for their invitation to do this but given many circumstances that won’t allow us to present the kind of event we’re proud of we’ve decided to cancel this year.  We’ll look forward to setting another date and presenting a wonderful event next spring.

www.goodlandkitchen.com

This will be Greenstreet Gardens’ second location and first in the Virginia area, located at 1721 West Braddock Road, Alexandria VA 22404

Famous among gardeners in this area for its products and its people, Greenstreet Gardens has long been an industry leader and now they’ll take their clients and friends to new heights with TOMATOMANIA!

Discuss how-to details with TOMATOMANIA staff and start your season off on the right foot. Check the Greenstreet Gardens website for classes, which will happen all through the weekend. Mostly, HAVE FUN!

www.greenstreetgardens.com

TOMATOMANIA! kicks off its spring season with a wonderful addition to our lineup. Come see us March 9th at Southern California’s garden mecca, Roger’s Gardens! Our friend and Roger’s favorite Steve Goto will join our team and help showcase over 150 varieties of the greatest tomatoes anywhere. It will be a fitting launch of this year’s tomato tour.

Stay tuned to FB or check the Roger’s website closer to the event for classes and other extras. See you there!
http://rogersgardens.com/

Grow Native is a division of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.  It’s located on Davis Avenue in the Veteran’s Administration Grounds and just north of UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium. 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days.

The 12-acre garden and nursery, located on the grounds of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) was established in 1989 as part of the VA’s Horticulture Therapy Program, a work therapy program to assist veterans making the transition back to civilian employment.

The Grow Native Nursery Westwood staff collaborates with the VAGLAHS to train veterans on the propagation, care and maintenance of California native plants and offers nursery sales to the public. The site has historically been known as the Veterans Garden and has served veterans over the years through a variety of projects such as growing micro-greens for local restaurants and cut flowers for local florists.

http://www.rsabg.org/

Fill a bowl or container according to how much you need or want to serve. Use the amounts below to add to two cups of sliced tomatoes.

Add finely diced:

1 clove Garlic
½ Onion
½ cup Rainbow bell peppers (all colors)
1 Leek
Small bunch of Basil
Small bunch of Cilantro
½ Jalapeno pepper (seeded)

Stir in:
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Salt/Pepper or Tabasco to taste

Mix and refrigerate for one hour. Add avocado slices to the top and serve.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large tblsp. butter or oleo
1 tsp.baking soda, (dissolved in a little hot water)
1 1/2 cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup

Mix together or sift in: 1 1/2 cups flour (regular)
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp.Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground cloves

Add 1/2 cup nut meats and 1/2 cup raisins. Be sure to soak raisins in hot water, then squeeze them dry.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Frost with Vanilla Frosting if desired. I bake this in a tube cake pan.

Good luck, Frieda Hamann

*We love using a cream cheese frosting with this cake.
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 – 3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Splash tomatoes with:

Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
*A liberal splashing of each will do the trick. Remember that the tomatoes will release moisture as they cook. You can adjust to your taste and even according to the depth of the tray or how you’ll want to use them.

Merely carmelizing the tomatoes will make for a wonderful sauce. These additions, however, will add to the uniqueness of the final result.

Add to the top of the cut tomatoes:

Kosher Salt
Pepper flakes
Finely diced garlic
Diced Onions (red or white)/Shallots or onion tops
One medium hot pepper
Fresh basil, chopped fine
Cover all that with a light dusting of brown sugar

Cook in a preheated oven:
25-30 minutes at 450 Degrees or slow cook for 3 hours at 275 degrees.

Remove when tomatoes are obviously carmelized and softened.

Cilantro? Oregano? Any garden herbs of your choosing will add depth and character to the wonderful resulting sauce. Use on great slices of bread, over pasta, rice, vegetables or any meat of your choice.