I've mentioned before that I own several heirloom gardening groups on Facebook. Today, I want to have a chat with my main administrator, Jim Wyant aka Tomato Jim.
I met Jim through a Facebook group several years ago. It was back in mid-to-late 2013. Things happened and I decided that I wanted to create my own Facebook group where people could chat freely about tomatoes and if, for whatever reason, the conversation evolved into something else, that would be just fine, too. If memory serves, I do believe that I asked Jim to be an admin for Heirloom Tomato Addicts Anonymous first. To date, there are several admins, but we have close to 6500 members in just that group alone. By the time you factor in the 6 (yes, 6) other Heirloom Addicts Anonymous groups, we are getting gardening and growing information out to around 10,000 people on a daily basis.
Jim specializes in rare and obscure heirloom tomato varieties that originate from the area of eastern Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Southern Ohio and Georgia. This is the area that most people think of when they think of Appalachia.
I did a quick Q & A with Jim.
Q: What do you specialize in, as far as gardening?
A: Heirloom tomatoes. My nickname is Tomato Jim for a reason.
Q:
When did you first get interested in growing rare and/or obscure
heirloom tomato varieties?
A: Some new neighbors, Donnie and Teresa
Fields, moved into the log home that is further back our lane. Really
nice people! Mrs. Fields loves cooking and liked my fresh tomatoes. One
day she asked me if I had ever grown Opalka tomatoes. Someone in her
family grew them and she thought they were the best sauce tomato she had
ever tried. I had never heard of them but the computer age was upon us
so I started investigating. I found seeds available for them. I also
found out they were something called “heirloom” tomatoes. Hmmm. During
this search I also found references to a tomato called Romeo. Reviews
for this one generally were much better than for Opalka. I figured I
would surprise Mrs. Fields with two kinds of sauce tomatoes. But, I
could not find Romeo seeds anywhere on line. Some places that carried
them were out. I also discovered forums for tomato growers. In one of
these forums I found a conversation between a couple folks referencing
Romeo seeds. A gentleman named Gary Millwood had agreed to send another
person some Romeo seeds. I sent a message to Mr. Millwood inquiring
about buying a few Romeo seeds. Weeks went by with no reply. One day
nearly two months after my request, Mr. Millwood answered. He stated
that he had nine seeds that were at least nine years old. No guarantee
they would germinate but that I was welcome to them for free. Free!
Nothing in return! I couldn’t talk him into taking anything. Little did I
know how that conversation would change the rest of my life!
Q:
Do you have a personal favorite tomato?
A: My favorite tomato is a
ripe one. No real favorite. I am partial to oxhearts but not a certain
favorite and I will eat any that are ripe!
Q:
On average, how many tomato plants do you grow in a year?
A: I grow
between 100 and 250 plants a year. I average 150. I try to grow 100
varieties each year with varying degrees of success.
Q:
Tell me about your mentor. Who are they and why?
A: This question is
actually a continuation of how I got started. Gary Millwood sent those
seeds to me. All nine germinated for me! When I told Mr. Millwood
of my success at germinating them he was very excited. He quickly asked
me if I would like to try another variety since I still had plenty of
time before planting time. I said sure. How do you refuse someone who
just gave you his last nine seeds of a variety? He sent me Sochulak
seeds. He said it was a delicious ugly tomato in danger of disappearing.
He said the shoulders were real rough but the tomato was very tasty!
Both varieties did very well for me that year. Gary and I communicated
often all year about their progress.
That was the start of a great friendship. Gary was very patient with
my questions. I now know some of them really showed how inexperienced I
was about heirloom tomatoes. He explained how the fermentation method
of preserving seeds worked. I sent hem a couple hundred seeds from Romeo
and Sochulak. He was tickled! Gary and I talked on the phone, texted
and wrote old fashioned paper letters. I always wanted to visit him. He
only lived in Louisville.’ about three hours form me. My work schedule
always seemed to get in the way. We were friends for three years before I
finally scheduled a vacation to coincide with something he called Mater
days at Thienemen’s Nursery in Louisville, where he volunteered as
their heirloom tomato guru. Gary passed away before that day came. I
had no idea how badly I would miss someone I had never laid eyes on.
Q:
You've been featured in a book. What is the title of that and who is
the author?
A: From Our Seeds & Their Keepers by Bevin Cohen.
Q:
How many varieties of heirloom tomato seeds do you have for sale
currently?
A: I currently have approximately 200 varieties of seeds
available for purchase.
Q:
How would people get in touch with you to order?
A: People can contact
me through Facebook or email at jjwyant1@frontier.com. Facebook is
preferred. The purchases are made through Messenger.
Q:
Are you planning on having a website in the future?
A: I have zero plans
to create a website. I am a hobbyist and plan to stay that way.
Q:
What is the rarest tomato seed in your collection?
A: I have no way to
rate the rarest tomato I have. Captain Meyers may be it. I got it in
Livingston, Tennesee from Joe Brown who was in his 90's. He stated that
he was the only one left in the area that still grew that tomato.
Captain Meyers had brought it back Livingston when he returned from the
War of 1812. I have sent a lot of those seeds out to folks to continue
its legacy.
Q: What's the best tomato group on Facebook?
A: Heirloom Tomato Addicts Anonymous of course!!
Wrapping up my interview with Jim, I'll add that this guy is a legend in the tomato world. I'm not even kidding. He's a damn legend and I'm equally damn lucky to have him on my admin team.
If you have any tomato questions, Jim's the one you want to ask. The most well-informed tomato group on Facebook today is Heirloom Tomato Addicts Anonymous. If you want to join, click here and make sure to answer our membership questions.
So, as I wrap up this conversation with Jim, I'll leave you with a thought. If you want to grow tomatoes, learn how to grow great tomatoes! HTAA (Heirloom Tomato Addicts Anonymous), Jim and all the other members in the group can teach you that.
