Tomato Care and Breeding with Craig LeHoullier | The Beet

The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers

Epic Gardening

Home & Garden, Education, Leisure, How To

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2024

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this full episode of the Beet podcast, Kevin has an in-depth conversation with renowned tomato grower and breeder, Craig LeHoullier. Their discussion ranges from growing epic tomatoes, to expert breeding techniques. Craig also imparts his experience working in the Dwaf Tomato Breeding Project. While you’re growing your own tomatoes, take note of Craig’s advice! Epic Gardening Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/3RVkvi6 Botanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/3xItJaJ Book Collection Page: https://growepic.co/3XTWwnsEG EG Homesteading Book: https://growepic.co/3VLlJh6 Learn More: How to Grow Epic Tomatoes in Grow BagsConnect With Craig LeHoullier:Craig LeHoullier, PhD (chemistry), advisor for tomatoes to the Seed Savers Exchange, co-leader of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, author of Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Strawbales (Storey publishing), approaching his 40th year of gardening. Instagram Website YouTube Love Epic Gardening products?Apply to the Epic Affiliate Program. Shop the StoreAs an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design. Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin’s book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin’s newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin’s books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us: Our Blog YouTube (Including Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We have Craig LeHullier back on the show after a four year hiatus Craig you are back
0:19.1	PhD in chemistry what I call you in my own mind is is I call you sort of the godfather of tomato
0:24.8	growing just because of the level that you have taken this passion of yours.
0:30.4	So since it's been, since 2019 since you've been on the show. Why don't you kick it off with a little bit of background on why I might call you that?
0:38.0	Oh gosh, so can a godfather tomatoes be French and German and Scottish and Irish maybe?
0:45.0	I've had a great time in the intervening four years and I want to really thank you for having me back on.
0:51.0	I kind of view myself as a coach and a teacher as well as a researcher. So any
0:55.8	opportunity I have to help grow gardeners, you know, we all know what COVID did. It's sent everybody
1:01.1	screaming to seed companies.
1:03.0	People like you and I are there to try to make the COVID
1:06.4	gardeners become permanent gardeners and help them, right?
1:09.2	Help them through the frustrations.
1:11.0	But, so I jumped into this really in 1986 when I discovered the Seed Savers Exchange, developed a love of heirlooms, started combing through the USDA collections, looking for tomatoes,
1:22.5	our grandfather and great-grandfathers may have grown,
1:25.9	then started thinking about what container gardeners
1:29.3	and patio gardeners might need
1:31.2	and put together a project to create the dwarf growing tomatoes.
1:35.4	You know, we moved to Hendersonville down here and I've been gardening for 40 years.
1:40.5	I'm just a miserable person in retiring because I find myself busier and
1:45.2	busier than ever. So I think it's it's my depth of interest in tomatoes and
1:50.3	how I think that they encapsulate everything interesting there is about gardening and you can apply science.
1:56.2	You can apply art.
	...

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