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Donations of more than $40 and above will receive four varieties of tomato seeds selected by Gary Ibsen.
Donations of $250 and above will receive Gift Certificate for 10% of the
value of the donation for the future purchase of tomato seeds for
yourself or another.
An "In memory of" donation to the friends or family of a favorite
gardener is a fine way to encourage others into preserving the legacy of
seed saving with the gift of heirloom tomato seeds.
Why we are requesting donation:
For almost twenty years TomatoFest Seeds has made it our mission to
collect heirloom and open-pollinated tomato seeds from seed collectors,
home gardeners and farmers from around the world in an effort to sustain
these valued tomato varieties, to share and enjoy now and protect for
future generations.
TomatoFest was among the first American tomato seed sources to be 100%
organic from the start, to grow and harvest all their own seeds. We
quickly became a popular and dependable source for tomato seeds.
We have grown, harvested and saved seeds each year into our TomatoFest
Seed Bank of more than 650 tomato varieties. It costs nearly $800 per
variety to contract organic land, grow, harvest, test, evaluate and
preserve each variety. In our efforts to recover the costs we've been
selling our seeds from our TomatoFest.com store.
However, of all the varieties we harvest each year only 20%, generally
the most popular, are sold to offset the costs of growing and harvesting
the 100%. The seeds for the 80% balance of the tomato varieties attract
little or no sales and revenue and are put into the Seed Bank for
future plantings, or donated to more than 250 charitable organizations
(school gardens, urban gardens and community gardens) through our
TomatoFest Seed Donations Program to encourage the sustainability of these cultivars and nourish the bodies, hearts and souls of many.
We feel obligated to continue sustaining seeds for all of our current
tomato varieties plus additional varieties sent to us with the fruit's
family or cultural history attached.
This provided us a challenging dilemma: considering the increased
growing/harvesting costs each year, we have been faced with the
necessary business decision to downsize the amount of heirloom tomato
varieties we save for our seed bank each year but this action would be
contrary to our mission and add to the possible loss of many varieties.
Therefore we decided to ask for donations to help defer our costs in
order to maintain and increase the comprehensiveness of our TomatoFest
Seed Bank.
Protect the legacy of our heirloom tomatoes for our children's future.
Your donation will help us ensure that these precious seeds are
preserved for generations to come. Your gift will encourage others
toward the practice of seed saving, enjoying these rare tomato varieties
and the preservation of the documented heirloom histories.
Please note: TomatoFest is not a non-profit business.
Past Donations Made to TomatoFest Seed Bank
A monetary donation made to maintain the TomatoFest Seed Bank to
assist in preserving the biodiversity of rare heirloom tomato varieties.
2017
- From: Lauren, Laurie and Brooke Zimet
Seeds Gift directed to: Linda, David Owen and Betsy Schwartz, Suffern, NY
In Loving memory & Celebration of Dr. Jesse Ellman.
Jesse enjoyed life as an avid tomato gardener.
2018
- From: Jo-Ann & Lee Lechner, Long Island, NY
Seeds Gift directed to: Jacki & Ray Fedynak, Bellmore, NY
In Loving memory & Celebration of Elaine Agnes Vaccarro.
Elaine enjoyed the life of a master gardener who loved growing and
harvesting her tomatoes and other vegetables. When she was 96 years old
she was still starting her tomatoes from her own seeds.
- Ted Hollen, Sauk Rapids, MN
- Joanie Newell, Cherry Hill Farm Nursery, Sheridan, OR
- Matthew Wolverton, Fort Leavenworth, KS
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