2019 Tomato Spectacular!
GET EXCITED! More than 70 different types of tomato plants will be available at Cal Poly’s annual Tomato Spectacular plant sale (formerly known as Tomato Mania) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, at the Horticulture Unit near the Poly Plant Shop. Staff and faculty can also purchase the plants during a presale from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, April 5. Brandywine, Early Girl, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Homestead, and a selection of cherry tomato plants, including Nature’s Bites, are some of the unique cultivars that will be available during the student-run enterprise project. The plants cost $7, with a quantity discount given for five or more plants.
This year the program is directed by a team of six students who have grown more than 5,000 tomato plants from seed to provide home gardeners with quality plants that will produce fresh tomatoes throughout summer. "Tomato Spectacular embodies Learn by Doing at Cal Poly and gives students the opportunity to get involved directly in the industry and experience hands-on learning,” said Beth Funke, a junior agricultural and environmental plant sciences major. “There are so many different dynamic aspects of working in agriculture. Being involved in the tomato enterprise demonstrated that developing social media skills to sell the plants was just as important as growing them.” (Pictured is Justin Williams, a senior agricultural and environmental plant sciences major and head grower for the project, working in the greenhouse.) For more information, follow Cal Poly Tomato Spectacular on Facebook and Instagram. View the full Tomato Spectacular 2019 catalog here.
