'By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer
When I read 'Julia Child' took the top prize in the UCCE Master Gardeners of Orange County's annual tomato taste test last month, I got curious. Having neither grown nor tasted this particular variety, I wondered where it came from.
Turns out it came from Gary Ibsen, the founder of the Carmel TomatoFest my co-blogger Jim reported about a few days ago. Ibsen grows more than 600 varieties of certified organic heirloom tomato seeds, and since 2002 `Julia Child' has been one of them.
Every year Ibsen trials a few heirloom tomatoes whose names have been lost. The seeds come to him, tucked into letters, from gardeners whose families have passed them on for generations. In 2001 Ibsen planted four of his favorites from these un-named varieties. And, at the end of the season, he chose the one he liked best to name for his good friend, Julia.
'Julia Child' is a tall plant, like its namesake, and has an appropriately robust flavor.
To enjoy some of Ibsen's favorie moments with Julia
For more about tomatoes, visit our One Block Diet blog. There will be new posts there about tomatoes all week.
