• Tomato Casual welcomes our new writer, Michael Nolan, who shares how his granny left him a ziploc bag of heirloom tomato seeds as her legacy.

• Ether at Sweet Vitriol: The Garden Chronicles shares her three years of experiences growing tomatoes and her switch from growing regular tomatoes to heirloom varieties.

• Teresa at Teresa Cooks skips the Costco version of Martha Stewart’s Tomato Soup and makes her own using Martha’s original recipe.

• Esther Montgomery at Esther in the Garden ponders which tomatoes to grow this year.

By Michael Nolan

When I was young, my grandparents grew the best tomatoes on the planet.

I didn’t know anything about anything at the time, except that these things were ugly, they were big and man, were they good! It wasn’t until years later when my grandmother passed away that I would learn that not all of the family heirlooms were given to her ungrateful children.

Granny left me a small box full of tiny zip lock baggies.

Each was carefully labeled with a variety of names, many of which sounded foreign. It didn’t take me long to realize that she had given me her collection of heirloom tomato seeds. No one could understand why I was so ecstatic when I didn’t receive one penny from the estate, but they couldn’t possibly comprehend the value of that little cigar box on my lap.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

Tomato Casual is honored to introduce you to one of its loyal readers:

Ray “Dad” White, who at 94 years old is America’s oldest blogger and one of the most avid and “ripe” tomato gardeners around.

Although White’s East Tennessee garden is diverse, tomatoes are his favorite crop, and he always has 50 to 75 plants going every year.

So what does the man called Dad by all do with his “pretty red tomatoes?”
Read the rest of this entry »

Are you passionate about tomatoes?

We are too! In fact, it’s why we created this community dedicated to “Tomato Everything for People Who Love Tomatoes.”

At Tomato Casual we are not only obsessed with growing, eating, cooking with tomatoes, we’re also obsessed with all things tomato whether it be art, music, wallpaper, recipes or movies.

Our expert Tomato Casual team will help you grow a better tomato, discover new ways to cook and enjoy tomatoes, and will keep you in know about all things tomato.

We invite you to be a part our community and share your tips, stories, photos and passion with those of us also enjoy this most perfect fruit.