Curious about growing your own tomatoes but don’t know where to start?
Tomatomania is the place for you! The annual event will be popping up at different plant nurseries throughout SoCal, where you can learn about different tomato varieties and what grows best in your micro-climate, plus get your hands on rare heirloom seedlings.
“This is a tomato circus,” says Scott Daigre, the event’s founder. “We're on the road, we arrive at a location, offload these beautiful, custom-grown tomatoes, and then we put together this collection that like nobody's ever seen before.”
“Tomatoes are the harbingers of spring,” says Scott Daigre, who’s been producing Tomatomania for nearly 20 years. Photo by Scott Daigre.
Tomatomania will be at Mission Hills Nursery in San Diego this weekend and Fig Earth Supply in Highland Park next weekend, March 11-13. For a full list of events, visit Tomatomania.com
Daigre is most excited about the event’s self-proclaimed “tomato of the year,” which is a Bronze Torch, as well as a variety called Thorburn’s Terra-cotta. They also have a huge selection of dwarf tomatoes, which are ideal for growing in pots (you can find tips on growing tomatoes in containers here).
Last year was their biggest year ever, says Scott Daigre, thanks to a burst of pandemic gardeners. Photo by Scott Daigre.