Our Speaker Series will be online again in May with Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Strawbales

Few of us have yards with perfect sun-drenched spaces that receive the best sun. By growing your garden in containers and/or straw bales, you can take advantage of the sunniest areas in your yard. Craig will lead you through all of the information you need to know to expand your gardening capabilities, describing in detail how you can grow just about anything using these flexible, easy techniques. Filled with pictures taken in Craig's own gardens of his successes with a wide variety of crops, you will come away with new gardening skills and ideas that will help make your future gardens productive and enjoyable. Be sure to bring your questions for him to answer.

Craig LeHoullier lives and gardens in Raleigh, North Carolina. A Rhode Island native, he caught the gardening passion from his grandfather, Walter, and dad, Wilfred. Craig achieved his PhD in chemistry at Dartmouth College, which resulted in a 25 year career in pharmaceuticals that ended in 2008.

Craig's gardening obsession, which started the year he and Susan were married (and their first garden, in 1981), is passing through several stages. His love of heirloom tomatoes began with his joining the Seed Savers Exchange, an organization for which he continues to serve as adviser for tomatoes, in 1986. He is responsible for naming and popularizing many well-known tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purple.

In 2005, he added amateur tomato breeding to his garden resume, and continues to co-lead the Dwarf Tomato Breeding project, responsible for creating 90 (and counting) new compact growing varieties for space-challenged gardeners. His writing career kicked off with a 2012 request from Storey Publishing to write a book on tomatoes, resulting in Epic Tomatoes (2015). His second book, Growing Vegetables in Straw bales, soon followed (2016).

Craig is a popular lecturer across the country at major gardening events, as well as a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows. His upcoming projects include a third book, which will focus upon the story of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, and a webinar series & online courses in which he will share his gardening knowledge.

Please note that this online meeting is restricted to chapter members. Under the guidance of OSU security protocols, every MG in the Metro area is supposed to be receiving an invitation to participate in the Zoom meeting with a password key to prevent Zoombombing.