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Craig LeHoullier Biography Page
Planted May 25, 2013
Last tended to on October 16, 2024
Reading time: 2 minutes
A Brief Biography:
Craig LeHoullier (a chemist by training who received his Ph.D. from Dartmouth College) developed a passion for growing heirloom tomatoes in 1986 while living in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
His interest in gardening started much earlier, when as a small child, he enjoyed spending time with his grandfather in his Rhode Island gardens.
He and his wife Susan had gardens from the time they were married in locations such as New Hampshire and Seattle. However by 1986, the year he joined the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE), he was becoming bored with the usual red tomatoes carried by most seed catalogs and garden centers. Joining SSE changed his gardening approach forever.
His collection now contains over 1000 heirloom tomato varieties, including many old commercial releases previously thought to be extinct. In addition to collecting seeds, Craig also hunts for old seed catalogs which he uses to increase his knowledge of the history of tomato variety development in the U.S. He is active in the Seed Savers Exchange as an advisor and Life Member, and known as “nctomatoman” on several tomato related gardening forums.
Along with his interest in researching and preserving old tomato varieties, Craig is also interested in working with “created and mystery heirlooms”. This interest led him to cocreate a decade-long, cross-hemisphere, citizen breeding program called the, “Dwarf Tomato Project.” Working in partnership with the Victory Seed Company during Mike Dunton’s tenure there, they worked to introduce the gardening public to over 100 heirloom quality, compact dwarf tomato plants that enabled nearly anyone to raise tomatoes, regardless of their access to garden space.
Since retiring as a chemist, Craig has dedicated himself full-time to the gardening community as an educator, author, and lecturer. Refer below to more information.
Other Information:
Articles:
Books:
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“Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales,” The Easiest Garden Ever! Straw bales make perfect beds for your plants – they are inexpensive, provide an ideal growing medium for roots, have few weeds, and are easy to maintain. Gardening expert Craig LeHoullier walks you through the process of selecting straw bales and fertilizer, preparing bales for planting, choosing the best vegetables to grow, and caring for your straw bale garden. The warm beds produce earlier harvests, and after the season is over, you can use the broken-down straw for mulching or adding structure to soil.
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“Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time,”
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