Have your winter salads of greens and more greens gotten so boring that you’ve stooped to buying bland hothouse tomatoes just to add a little color to your plate?
Help is on the way. Tomatomania! is preparing for 2022 with more than 200 varieties of tomatoes and almost 100 types of peppers, on sale from February 25 at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar.
This annual road show will visit nine Southern California locations between San Diego and Santa Barbara counties this year, and many varieties will continue to be available at the locations through May.
February can be a chilly month for planting tomatoes in inland areas of Southern California, says Tomatomania! owner Scott Daigre, but not for more temperate coastal regions, where frost is rarely a concern.
Tomatoes are a warm-season crop that, like peppers and basil, need soil temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit to start growing vigorously. But if you’re itching to get started on your summer harvest, Daigre says your seedlings will be fine in their 4-inch pots for a few weeks, until the ground warms up. You just have to keep them watered in a warm and sunny place.
A colorful display of Tomatomania’s 200+ tomato varieties!
(Scott Daigre)
Nap growing tomatoes in pots, you can start with an advantage, because the soil warms up much faster in pots. Just choose a large container for each plant, preferably at least 24 inches deep, so the roots have plenty of room to grow, and keep the pot in a spot that gets at least six to eight hours of sun a day. .
The biggest challenge with Tomatomania! is deciding which varieties to choose. And boy does Daigre have varieties to offer, in a rainbow of colors like:
- Bronze Torcha variety of elongated cherry tomato and the tomato of the year 2022
- Saucy Maryan early, striped, lime-green variety
- Paul Robesona dark red variety of beefsteak tomato
- Pinocchioa deep orange Roma variety with a long, pointed end
- Momotaroa tasty pinkish-red Japanese hybrid
Bronze Torch, a hybrid named for its brick-red color streaked with green and bronze, grows well in the ground or in pots, Daigre said, and produces luscious fruit in just 65 days.
“Last year I traveled with little bunches of this tomato, asking people what they thought, and their jaws dropped.”
Scott Daigre, owner of Tomatomania!
This is one of the necessary criteria to be chosen Tomato of the Year, he said. “We want to see good, solid production and flavor, and this one tastes amazing. Last year I traveled with little bunches of this tomato, asking people what they thought of it, and their jaws dropped and their eyes widened because this [tomate] cherry was so different and so rich”.
Another plus: Bronze Torch will start producing in early spring and continue into the fall, Daigre said. “It has continued to produce in my garden [en Ojai] always,” he assured. “I’ve done everything with them… I’ve roasted them and made sauces and salads. Technically, it’s a cherry tomato, but it doesn’t have the level of sugar that a Sungold has, so the flavor is more complex. It’s very unique.”
Roger’s Gardens has made the choice easy with a list of many varieties of Tomatomania! on your website. Orders must be picked up at his Corona del Mar store, but if that’s too far, he can at least get an idea of what’s coming to a nearby location, Daigre said.
Where to buy the unique varieties of Tomatomania!
Here are the next sale dates, listed by county. Note that most places (except Fig Earth Supply) will have extended sales after their initial weekends, with fewer options, but still a great selection of plants.
That was a big lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, Daigre said. Tomatomania sales! they used to be very crowded events, with workshops and long lines. Tomato lovers still wanted to choose, but not the crowds during the pandemic, so Tomatomania! it adapted by creating opening weekend sales with over 200 varieties and then offering a more limited selection for several weeks.
Los Angeles County
March 11 to 13
Fig Earth Supply3577 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, from 9:30 am to 5 pm (Closes at 4 pm on March 13).
March 18 to 20
Tapia Brothers Farm5251 Hayvenhurst Ave., Encino, 9 a.m. a 5 p.m.
orange county
February 25 to March 6
Roger’s Gardens2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
County of San Diego
March 5 and 6
Mission Hills Nursery1525 Fort Stockton Drive, San Diego, de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m.
Santa Barbara County
april 2
Seaside Gardens3700 Via Real, Carpinteria, from 9 am to 5 pm
Ventura County
March 11 and 12
Otto & Sons Nursery1835 E. Guiberson Road, Fillmore, 8 a.m. a 4 p.m.
March 25 to 27
Underwood Farm Center3370 Sunset Valley Road, Moorpark, de 9 a.m. a 5 p.m.
April 1st
Wachter’s Hay & Grain114 S. Montgomery St., Ojai.
April 9 and 10
Underwood Farm Market5696 E. Los Angeles Ave., Somis, de 9 a.m. a 5 p.m.
If you want to read this article in Spanish, click here