Tomato contestant: Lionel Mailloux of Manhasset
Reader Lionel Mailloux is growing towering, 8-foot-tall tomato plants. (2013) Credit: Handout
Lionel Mailloux of Manhasset credits “a combination of the weather and luck" for his towering 8-foot-tall tomato plants. The cherry and Big Beef varieties are producing fruit, he says, and "the plants are growing uncontrollably."
Mark your calendars: This year’s contest will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at Newsday headquarters (235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville). Give your plants plenty of tender loving care all summer long, then bring your biggest, heaviest ripe fruit to the event.
I'll be on hand to weigh your tomatoes personally and crown the 2013 Tomato King or Queen. In the meantime, send a photo of yourself with your tomato plants, along with details about your growing strategy, to jessica.damiano@newsday.com, and you might be featured next.
