Tomato planting season is nigh. For almost three decades, Scott Daigre has hosted Tomatomania! each year at the beginning of spring. He offers 270 varieties of tomatoes at his seedling pop-ups across the Southland.
Listen 57 min MORE County Line Harvest at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market is offering two Japanese varieties of turnips, including the hinona kabu, an elongated turnip which is popular for pickling and has a mustard green top. Photo by Gillian Ferguson.
Host Evan Kleiman knows her pasta. This week on Good Food, she talks to Dan Pashman, who she has been advising on his quest to engineer a brand new pasta shape. Scott Daigre of Tomatomania! is back with his annual seedling sale just in time for spring. Gillian Ferguson talks turnips at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. Professor Alex Susskind discusses how restaurants are embracing operations and learning to shift costs to the consumer. Michelin-starred chef Dave Beran of Pasjoli shares how his menu shifted to takeout for this week’s edition of “In the Weeds.” Finally, J. Kenji López-Alt provides a science lesson on what happens when water boils.
Tomatomania Is Sprouting at SoCal s Gardens and Farms nbclosangeles.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbclosangeles.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Print
Tomatomania, Southern California’s harbinger of spring gardening for 30 years, had a brutal season in 2020, when most of its venues were closed due to COVID-19. But it’s gearing up again, with a few tweaks, ready to start its traveling seedling show featuring more than 200 tomato varieties and 100 pepper varieties Feb. 26.
The good news: Gardeners will have more time to browse its offerings at each pop-up stop. The not-so-good news: There will be far fewer venues to visit, said owner Scott Daigre. In past years, Tomatomania moved its three- or 10-day sales events to about a dozen venues from Ventura County to San Diego County, offering demonstrations, workshops, recipes and camaraderie.
You know that nightmare where you’re running as fast as you can, but you just can’t keep up? Then you’ll totally understand the sleep-deprived, breakneck ride that Southern California’s plant nurseries and growers went on in 2020 and are bracing for today.
On the face of it, 2020 was a great business year. Most nurseries reported huge increases in sales and first-time customers eager to grow their own food even in containers or enrich their homes with beautiful plants.
But the stress and sheer labor involved in reconfiguring their businesses to keep staff and customers safe during the pandemic? That was another story, a hair-raising tale still bleeding into 2021.