Midtown man finds tomato-growing perfect outlet for his green thumb

Published August 28, 2012 in the Commercial Appeal

Jeff Green, 49, has lived in the same shotgun house in Midtown since 1989. He started a garden right away when he moved there, trying out different crops, such as peppers, cucumbers, snap beans and tomatoes. After one bite of a tomato that first year, he says, "It tasted so awesome. I found out right away that this soil grows tomatoes."

Green says once you figure out your dirt, the rest is easy. Since figuring his out, he has focused on growing heirloom tomatoes, with a few peppers here and there. "Other crops can easily take over and destroy the tomatoes. It just takes one watermelon to ruin everything," he says.

Green, who has a degree in landscape architecture from Louisiana State University and grew up helping his granddad with his tomatoes, is proud of what he's created at his home in the Tucker-Jefferson area near Overton Square. "It's all organic. All heirloom. All Midtown," he says.

To fertilize, Green has three compost piles he feeds coffee grounds, eggshells and vegetable scraps. "I also supplement with horse manure. It's 'hot,' so it has to simmer down for a year before I can use it in the garden."

Heirlooms are his tomatoes of choice because they are stout. "Heirloom means they've lasted at least 25 years," explains Green. He thinks they are easier to grow without a lot of care. "I also like that they aren't genetically modified. They're old school," he says.

Green jokes one year he accidentally made a "super tomato" when the Lemon Boys cross-pollinated with the cherries. "We made a Little Lemon Boy," he says.

Over the years, Green has expanded the number of plants he grows. In 2006, he and his neighbor took down the fence that separated their yards to make more room. In 2008, his neighbor started reading seed catalogs and decided to start the tomato plants inside his home from seed. (Before that, Green would order small plants and put them directly in the ground.)

Green says ordering seeds can be expensive, up to $5 per packet. He spends money only on a few new varieties each year. "We have a lot of volunteer plants, and we actively save our own seeds. Saving seeds means saving money," he says.

This year, they planted 56 varieties in the ground (seven rows with eight plants each) and six more varieties in buckets. Green has a chart to show where each one is planted. His favorites are Lemon Boys, which are low-acid, bigger, yellows; Yellow Pears, which taste and look like tiny pears; and Chocolate Cherries, which are purple.

Green says they have developed a system that requires no weeding and the garden practically waters itself. "We have a drip-irrigation system. We fill a rain barrel with water twice a day, which drains into a hose system. There are a bunch of holes in the hoses to flood out the garden, so it waters itself," he explains.

Green occasionally sprays the leaves as well, but not in the heat of the day. "You need to wait for the sun to set or you'll hear the leaves sizzling," he says. "Early this morning the tomatoes were thanking me, too. Just wiggling and saying thanks."

He uses a rain barrel to catch rain and water off his air-conditioning unit, but he also recommends filling rain barrels with tap water. "Even if there is no rain, tap water needs to sit in the sun so the chlorine can evaporate and so it can warm up," he says. "The plants take it a little easier if it is warmed up."

To combat weeds, they have incorporated a weed barrier filter fabric on the ground. "We slice holes in the fabric for the plants. There are no weeds and it holds the moisture down," Green says.

They reused the same filter fabric this year from last year, since it was in good shape, but suspect it may be the cause of a fungus that has attacked the leaves of their plants. "It hasn't affected the fruit, but it has kept production down," says Green.

To fight off the mystery fungus, Green has been spraying sulfur and lime. "We're going to have to get evil on some fungus," he says. "It just jumped on us this year." Fungus has never been a problem before. "Some years, it just cranks up. I've seen people on TV talking about it this year," he explains.

Green plans to till the entire garden before planting next year.

Despite the fungus, Green has had plenty of tomatoes, more than he could eat. In the past, Green had to compete with a family of squirrels for the tomatoes. This year, he said he wanted to plant enough for them both. "It worked, but this year we had about 30 squirrels living in the yard," he says with a laugh. Thankfully, the squirrels left one of Green's favorites, the Chocolate Cherries, alone. "They didn't recognize the purple as food," he says.

Green also sold several pints of his tomatoes to a few local restaurants. "Places like Tsunami and the Beauty Shop like the little different colored cherries. The orange and black are pretty rare," he says.

He's willing to share his tomatoes with anyone who is interested. "People stop by, I share with neighbors, and I take them around town. My folks always get a bunch, too," he says.

Green eats a handful or two a day. "I just walk around and graze," he says. "I tried canning, but I don't know what I'm doing there. I freeze some and I've made a little salsa."

His goal has always been to see how many different varieties he can grow. Next year, he plans to challenge himself with Naga Jolokia, better known as Ghost Chili Peppers, certified as the hottest peppers in the world. "If I can get them to live, I'll bring them in over the winter and plant them next summer," he says.

However, the four starter plants he has have already been attacked by bugs. "It seems like every plant you want to grow really bad, the bugs want to eat really bad," he says.

Green keeps bugs at bay with diatomaceous earth. "It's really sharp," he explains. "Bugs can't crawl across it without getting cut up."

He also uses diluted dish soap to keep bugs away.

For slugs, he has invented his own traps. Made from a plastic drink bottle, a screw and a little Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, they are highly effective. "Cut the bottle in half, turn the top upside down and place it in the bottom. Secure it with a screw, and then fill with a little bit of beer," Green instructs. "Put in on an angle near the ground so it creates a ramp. They won't work that hard for the beer."