The year of the tomato

Heirloom tomatoes are the star of six plant sales being held at Petaluma elementary schools this spring

Terry Hankins April marks the beginning of a series of plant sales at six Petaluma elementary schools. Zoom Photo

SPRING PLANT SALES April 12: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Grant Elementary, 200 Grant Ave. There will be a tomato talk with author Mimi Luebberman and Denise Ward at 10 a.m. The school is also holding a rummage sale. 778-4742. April 19: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McDowell Elementary, 421 S. McDowell Blvd. The sale is part of the school’s Healthy Start Nutrition Fair. 778-4745. May 3: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McNear Elementary, 605 Sunnyslope Ave. There will also be a pancake breakfast, garden arts and crafts. 778-4752. May 3: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Valley Vista Elementary, 730 N. Webster St. There will be a playground dedication and silent auction. 778-4762. May 15: 6 to 8 p.m. at Penngrove Elementary, 365 Adobe Road, Penngrove. Annual plant sale and open house. 778-4755. May 17: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McKinley Elementary, 110 Ellis St. The schools first plant sale and garden fiesta. 778-4750. All proceeds from the sales goes to the Petaluma City Schools garden programs. Information: Contact Denise Ward at 778-4762.

Everything is coming up tomatoes this year, thanks to green-thumbed elementary school students who have been busily planting 300 varieties of heirloom tomatoes to be sold to the public during a series of upcoming school plant sales.

“The kids love gardening, they really do,” said Denise Ward, Petaluma City Schools district garden program coordinator. “The kids do all the planting and I’m just the babysitter in the greenhouse.”

Six schools — Grant, McDowell, McNear, Valley Vista, Penngrove and McKinley elementaries — will be holding plant sales featuring a variety of vegetable starts, perennials and annual flowers, along with the star of the sale, tomatoes. Ward said that about 7,000 tomato plants will be available.

“The curriculum for the kids this year was centered around tomatoes,” said Ward. “They learned the history of tomatoes coming out of South America and how the tomato seed has become a world traveler; for example, there are African tomatoes, Australian tomatoes and even Japanese tomatoes.

“The really nice thing about the garden program itself is that the kids get to do a little gardening every week,” she said. “There are about 700 to 800 kids participating each week and they really love doing it. It’s a fun thing for them.”

The seeds for the plants were donated by both local and national companies eager to support students learning the art of gardening. “A company out of Carmel sent us 80 different varieties of tomatoes,” said Ward. “Another place out of Iowa sent us about another 80 as well.”

Seed sponsors include Tomato Growers Supply Co., Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds of Change, Totally Tomatoes and Tomatofest.com.

While the schools’ gardening program is near and dear to Ward’s heart, this year holds special meaning for her because of the focus on tomatoes. “I’m fanatical about tomatoes!” she said. “Some people collect owls or other things — I collect tomato plants. For years I grew about 50 plants. Every year in September, we have a big tomato party. My husband plays jazz and we invite our friends. It’s great fun.”

The first of the season’s plant sales is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 12 at Grant Elementary School and will feature dozens of heirloom tomato varieties including Bull’s Heart, Aunt Ginny’s Purple, Black Zebra, Kosovo, Brown Berry, Oregon Spring and Arkansas Traveler. There will also be other vegetable starts for sale such as beans, several varieties of basil, lettuce, drought-tolerant plants, early spring flowers and small garden trees.

A highlight of the sale will be a tomato talk at 10 a.m. with Ward and Mimi Luebberman, author of “The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook.” “That will be a day where people can come and learn about what soil to use for growing tomatoes, varieties, diseases and what to do and not do,” said Ward. “Tomatoes are pretty easy to grow.”

The sale also coincides with the school’s rummage sale.

The next sale is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 19 at McDowell Elementary School and will include the school’s Healthy Start Nutrition Fair. “The garden at McDowell is sponsored by Petaluma Bounty and Elim Lutheran Church,” said Ward.

McNear Elementary holds its garden arts, crafts and plant sale and pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 3. “That’s going to be a big day,” said Ward. “Just a few blocks away on the same day, Valley Vista Elementary is holding their plant sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.”

Valley Vista will also have its playground dedication, a silent auction and Comcast crew garden work day.

Penngrove Elementary’s plant sale and open house will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. May 15. The last of the spring sales is set from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 17 at McKinley Elementary — the school’s first plant sale.

With the number of plant sales and tomato plants available in Petaluma this spring, there will be no shortage of them during harvest time. And for those who end up with more tomatoes than they can eat, Ward recommends donating them to the local food banks.

“I’m going to be old one day and won’t be able to grow tomatoes myself, so I need the kids to learn how to grow them,” said Ward of the school’s gardening program. “That’s my life story — a fanatic finds her dream: having kids grow thousands of tomatoes.”

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@arguscourier.com)