Other Voices

Craig LeHoullier is a tomato guru. He thinks the time of coronavirus, when people are home and wary of grocery shopping, is the perfect time to become a gardener. He does Instagram Live on Fridays from his North Carolina home —@NCTomatoMan — as he tends his garden and answers inquiries. A chemist by trade, LeHoullier treats the growing of vegetables like a science but also takes great delight and pleasure in the color and taste of his produce. He and a gardener in Australia, Patrina Nuske Small, have spent 15 years working with people from around the world to develop 123 varieties of dwarf tomatoes, which even city dwellers with just a pot of soil can raise. He’s also perfected the art of growing vegetables in bales of straw, and will soon have books on both of those initiatives. His first book, “Epic Tomatoes” — he called writing it an act of courage — is not just a practical guide to growing tomatoes but a personal life history of his favorite varieties. In this week’s podcast, at AltamontEnterprise.com/podcasts, LeHoullier urges people to follow his passion into gardening. “You’ll get healthy,” he says as you work to a soundtrack of birdsong and learn from your mistakes. (— Photo by Kip Dawkins)