ENCINO ? For the past 16 years, Southern California tomato ?maniacs? have greeted the spring with the same ritual, a three-day event called TomatoMania! The event is believed to be the nation?s largest and most unusual tomato seedling sale featuring 300 varieties of heirloom tomatoes in every size, shape, color and taste. The event is organized by Scott Daigre self-proclaimed ?maniac? and landscape designer. It was created by Gary Jones, owner of Hortus Nursery, a popular Pasadena nursery that closed in 2001. Daigre was Hortus? event director and worked with Jones to set it up and now owns the company himself. It started in 1991 as Hortus started to see heirloom seeds get popular. ?At the time Seed Savers came out and we saw that a new trend was coming. We teamed up with a grower friend and were the first ones to offer these. By the mid-?90s we went from 20 varieties to 250,? Daigre said. After the Hortus site was sold, the event found itself without a home. That?s when Daigre got more involved. ?When the nursery closed it was to re-open with the event. They had everything in line but it didn?t work out so I looked for another venue and found Tapia Brothers Farm.? The San Fernando Valley farm, one of the last remaining in Los Angeles, has been able to accommodate the event as it has grown. And it?s no longer the only event. ?We started at Tapia Brothers with two events, now it?s up to seven events,? said Daigre. The other sites include Quail Botanical Gardens in San Diego, Copia Center in Napa, the Costa Mesa Spring Garden Show, and White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Conn. It?s also grown in terms of the volume they sell. ?We probably have 20,000 seedlings. At Tapia there were 1,300 flats on the ground and 300 varieties, but it?s the flagship event and the biggest one. At smaller events we bring about 100 varieties.? TomatoMania! has become a year-round job for Daigre. ?Orders start in November, and the sales and tastings go into the summer,? he said. ?The more it grows the harder it is to do with my garden design business, but luckily I have a good team that keeps my design projects going while I am doing this.? Daigre uses seven growers from all over the state to produce his tomato seedlings. ?Some I just use the list of what they grow and some are contract grown. Most of my farms are small because it?s a specialty crop and I have one certified organic but the rest aren?t, we just need someone who can grow the volume,? Daigre said. Aside from the tomatoes, Daigre says the appeal of the event is that it?s something you can?t do anywhere else. ?There are lots and lots of nurseries but they don?t offer this,? he said. ?They are bowled over because they know what they get here is a lot of help, a chance to slow down and they get listened to.? For farmers wondering about the specialty tomato market, Daigre said, ?the market is huge; grocery stores are now starting to feature them. I think it?s endless.? Daigre has teamed up with windowbox.com to sell his tomatoes online nationwide. And, he is always on the lookout for the next great tomato. ?I want to find a new tomato we can name,? he said. ?I would love to have one I can call Maniac.? - Friday, April 14, 2006
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