Mr. and Mrs. Tomato Head

06/11/2026

It's Awesomesauce Thursday!

Join me later today for this week's live broadcast of "Lauren's TOMATO Awesomesauce!!"

Each week I spotlight 15(ish) varieties I'm currently obsessed with! I show photos and do a deep dive into any other info out there on that particular tomato. Each tomato out there in the world deserves its time in the sun (literally AND figuratively!)

This show is live so we can discuss tomatoes TOGETHER! This is an interactive format, and we sure have a lot of fun!

Seed prizes are randomly drawn and given out at the end each show to those watching LIVE.

**show is recorded for later viewing**

Hope you can join me for another week of some exceptional TOMATOES!

4pm ET/1pm PT/9pm GMT/10pm CEST

Viewing link in comments

06/03/2026

Tomato Tour Wednesday!

Hope you can join me for the LIVE PREMIERE of today’s garden tour!

Please note that this will be one hour later than usual….at 5pm ET!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

04/07/2026

Tania from Common Sense Seeds has made a fun discovery featuring a video starring a TOMATO!

Here is what she says on her Instagram:
"Happy Tomato Tuesday! 🍅❤️ Have you ever heard of ‘The Ketchup Song’ by Stompin’ Tom Connors?

In 1970, the late Canadian folk/country singer Stompin’ Tom Connors wrote a song about the tomatoes of Leamington (The Tomato Capital of Canada) – called ‘The Ketchup Song’.

We have a tomato in our lineup from Leamington called ‘Leamington No 1’ – but didn’t make the connection to the Stompin’ Tom Connors song until Norma pointed it out. Thank you!

Stompin’ Tom wrote ‘The Ketchup Song’ about a romance between a tomato 🍅from Leamington and a potato 🥔from Prince Edward Island.

The song went to Number 1 on the Canadian Country Music Charts in 1970!😀
______________

The opening lyrics of ‘The Ketchup Song’:

"There was a guy from PEI they used to call Potato
He met this young Leamington, Ontario Tomato
But he had eyes for other girls, and she was a little mushy
So, they said “well let’s get wed”, no sense in being fussy."
____________

And it gets better – there is a music video of ‘The Ketchup Song’ – that stars The Big Tomato from Leamington (in cartoon form) as the female lead (see The Big Tomato postcard c 1961).

I will put a link to the video in a comment.

I am thinking this must be the first and only music video in the world that stars a tomato.
please let me know😊"

Catch the video of "The Ketchup Song"....link in the comments!

04/03/2026

My (mostly) Complete 2026 Grow List-VIDEO SLIDESHOW!

I know so many of you watched my 4-part series where I showcased most of the varieties I'm growing this season!

I was going to publish a semi-complete list here in TLC, but I decided to create a video slideshow instead....since I already had most of the slides made for my series!

Here they are! Including a few that I'm helping to bring out of extinction with a few friends which is exciting!

Hope you enjoy it!

Hey there, tomato heads!While I did a 4-part series showcasing most of the varieties we are growing in 2026, I thought I would put them into a condensed slid...

04/03/2026

Join Jen and I tonight as we interview Ongweh Ias, otherwise known as Phil Seneca!

We will be talking with Ongweh about color genetics, breeding, and hosting a live interactive Q&A with our viewers!

Join us for some tomato fun!

04/03/2026

TONIGHT at 7pm ET!

Join me and Jen for our April episode of "Tomato Talk Live!!" where our special guest will be tomato breeder Ongweh Ias (aka Phil Seneca) of Good Mind Seeds!

Ongweh (previously known as Phil Seneca) returned to our tomato community last year after taking a decades-long hiatus due to health reasons. We are so happy to have him back, and Jen and I are THRILLED he will be joining us tonight LIVE for a 90-minute interactive chat with all of YOU!

Ongweh is the owner of Good Mind Seeds and has been breeding tomatoes since he was a young man. Most of his varieties have not been in circulation for a very long time, but in 2025 Jen, Kina, and I had the wonderful opportunity to grow many of them thanks to Ongweh sharing with us!

He is known for such varieties as: Gargamel, Prince Charming's Bastard, Lime in the Coconut, Queen Nanny, Cuautli Salubong, and many more!

Ongweh is part of the indigenous Onodowaga (Seneca) nation and is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His important work with wild genetics as well as preserving varieties and stories from his indigenous roots makes him an important asset to the tomato community, and we can't wait to talk to him!

Hope you can join us for what is sure to be an incredible show!

https://www.youtube.com/live/W5w0muUNibk?si=t13hvJRorOUKXuw7

Hey there, tomato heads!Join us for our April 2026 episode of “Tomato Talk Live” where we will be talking tomatoes and having interactive tomato discussions ...

03/29/2026

And we are off to the races!

While I've already started peppers, dwarf tomatoes, and varieties where I had older seeds that may have needed more time, today Mr. Tomato Head and I started our first batch of tomatoes for our 2026 growing season!

They grow fast, so we succession sow over the course of a few weekends so they don't all get huge at the same time. It is more helpful in so many ways like for the need for shorter and taller grow lights at different times, making sure we can gradually harden off in batches, and just generally not having tomato "seedlings" that all look like trees by the time we plant them in their forever homes at the end of May.

Plants we give away don't get started until 4 weeks beforehand. Our method of starting seeds provides quite healthy-sized starts in only a month's time!

Here we go! Have a great season, tomato heads!

03/25/2026

Wowsa!

This is one of the geekiest (in the best way!) and comprehensive articles on the ins and outs of tomatoes that I have EVER read!

It goes through what happens to a tomato seed day by day after putting it in soil. It talks about breeding. It talks about history.

WOW!

It is a bit of a read, but for those of you (like me!) who are the geekiest of tomato heads….set aside time to read this. You’ll love it!

Very thoroughly researched!

The ripe round red tomato sitting on the kitchen table is alive and busy. While we are asking, “How shall I eat it?” the tomato is huffing and puffing, sending signals throughout its meat and juices that cue color, texture, and flavor changes. The tomato, if it could talk, would tell us it doesn...

03/11/2026

This is both hilarious AND sad….

For anyone who has ever grown tomatoes, we KNOW this is not real. Look at those purple cotyledons!

But what saddens me is new growers who purchase seeds for tomatoes like this and truly think they will get a sky blue tomato.

Shame on this vendor and the others who use Photoshop or AI to create tomatoes that don’t exist….taking advantage of those who don’t yet understand.

In the comments I have included other manipulated veggies that clearly don’t exist in the real world. Shame on them!

Long story short…do NOT purchase from Neera Seeds.

Buy Sky Blue Tomato Seeds for Planting - Unique Variety - heirloom & Non GMO Seeds for planting. High-quality, non-GMO Vegetable Seeds. Perfect for your garden.

02/22/2026

Breaking Down the Flavor Profiles in Tomatoes!

Check out my latest article at Secret Seed Cartel that focuses on the factors that contribute to the different taste profiles in our beloved TOMATOES!

I hear over and over again from fellow tomato heads that they ache to find a tomato that tastes just like the old-fashioned flavor they remember from the tomatoes their elders grew back in the day. So many of us remember that seemingly “perfect” tomato flavor that is etched into our memory, and ...