Saturday was Day One of the Great Tomato Plant Sale in Walnut Creek. Tomato lovers, young and not-as-young, formed a line that snaked around the corner and down the street as they waited for the sale to begin. The garden was abuzz with activity as CCMG volunteers set up the tents and tables, did plant inspections, and found their stations. The help desk tent was ready to answer questions about tomatoes, gardening, or the Master Gardeners' programs; the garden guides were ready to help with location and selection of tomatoes and other veggies; the expeditors were posted at the end of the garden to guide the customers through the checkout process; and the cashiers and CI's were at the registers to ring up the purchases.
The gates opened promptly at 10:00 am. Customers, with lists in hand, focused on finding the tomatoes they had carefully selected from the myriad of varieties offered, for their gardens this year. For the next two hours, there was a frenzy of tomato buying. There were flats, there were bags, there were bins, there were carts, and there were wagons. It was amazing. I manned one of the cash registers and by the third hour, I think I had rung up over 900 plants. The seven other cashiers were also ringing up about the same amount. The pace continued, with only a few lulls when many of the attendees stopped to listen to Our Garden's Janet Miller, give presentations on growing tomatoes and other veggies. It was a great turnout!
Even after selling so many plants, believe it or not, we still have lots of inventory at both locations and they are definitely not “left-overs.” While we sold out of a few varieties, we still have over 3,500 tomato plants at Our Garden. And, we've set aside 3,000 plants for the upcoming West County sale.
So, if you missed the first day of the GTPS, don't despair – Our Garden will have plants -- tomatoes (of course!), peppers, various other veggies and herbs, beans, and even some flowers -- available this Wednesday and upcoming Saturday, and West County will have its very own sale on Saturday as well. CCMG volunteers will be on hand to help you out.
Come check it out!