The Great Tomato Plant Sale. That’s the name given by master gardeners in Contra Costa to the plant sale they held yesterday in Walnut Creek. And it was great! I had no idea so many hundreds of people devotedly grew their own tomatoes. One of the many volunteers hosting the event said to me, “Last year, we planted 4,000 tomato starter plants, and sold out in three hours. So this year, we planted 14,000.”

It’s a good thing they did. When I arrived a few minutes before the official start time, there was a line three deep winding down the block and around the corner. People had come carrying boxes, flats, and other containers because boy, they were ready to start buying! The mood in the line was friendly but slightly competitive, as we all lusted after the rare heirloom varieties that had been advertised.

Tomatoes come in all colors and have snazzy names. Black tomatoes can be had in varieties called Black Cherry, Black Ethiopian, Black Prince, Chocolate Stripe, and more. Yellow tomatoes rejoice in the names of Yellow Brandywine, Wapsipinicon Peach, and Isis Candy. Classic reds are Box Car Willie, Principe Borghese, Red Zebra, and Cuore de Toro. Then there are Sugar Sweetie, Cherokee Purple, Chianti Rose – oh, you get the idea.

Master gardeners are people who have taken specified classes through university extensions and passed a rigorous exam. If you want to contact Contra Costa Master Gardeners, they are at mgcontracosta@ucdavis.edu    ccmg.ucdavis.edu

CCMG also collaborated with the Contra Costa Times to create a project called Our Garden, where volunteers and master gardeners offer demonstrations and classes every Wednesday from April through October.

Check it out! These people know how to grow and how to teach. Very inspiring. Stay in touch with Contra Costa Master Gardeners so you can plan to attend next year!