Meet Contestant #2
| NAME | HOMETOWN | VARIETIES | PLATFORM |
| Larry Goldstein | Plainview | "Mortgage Lifter," Various Beefsteak | Red plastic mulch, manure |
Larry Goldstein, 75, of Plainview is our second contestant, challenging Matthew Barcia of West Hempstead in the quest for Long Island's biggest tomato. This year, he planted 48 seedlings, which he grew indoors from seeds. Some of those seeds were hand-scraped from store-bought Campari tomaotes.
Goldstein fortifies his plants only with composted manure and covers the bed with red plastic mulch from the Gardens Alive! Catalog. He says he never has the need for fertilizers or pesticides.
Over the winter, Goldstein started 72 plants in a seed tray on a windowsill in his home. He placed ordinary heating pads on a timer under the tray. "I know you're supposed to, but I can't bear to pick out and kill the little extras so I transplant the doubles into the garden," he said. "If they're weak looking, I take them out, but if they're healthy looking I keep them. They work."
Goldstein has been growing tomatoes for nearly 40 years. "My father was born on a farm, so I guess it's in the genes," he said, adding that he recently discovered the red sheet plastic that covers his tomato beds. Trying to save money a few years back, Goldstein tried using red plastic tablecloths instead. "They didn't work. By the end of the season they were all faded and ripped," he said. So he began using the Gardens Alive! product. He even left the cover in the garden over the winter. "This year, when I took the plastic off the tomato areas, there were no weeds underneath, so all I did was take my little power cultivator and plowed up three strips where the tomatoes are going to be. I rototilled the strips with composted manure."
And therein lies his secret.
ARE YOU IN?
Think you'll grow Long Island's biggest tomato this year? Tell me your story, your plan and your secret. Drop me a line at jessica.damiano@newsday.com. Be sure to include your name, town, phone number and tomato plant details. You must be willing to be photographed and be available for periodic visits. If you have photos of yourself in your garden, send them too. No experience is necessary. The winner will be announced at the end of the season.
Progress will be followed right here, on the Garden Detective blog.
