Cultivating Connections: Interview with “Mr. Tomato” and SCCG gardener, Alan Comstock

If you hear instrumental guitar melodies wafting through the air, there’s a good chance this gardener is around tending to his passion.

We are delighted to highlight Alan Comstock for March 2024 Cultivating Connections. 

SCCG: Hi Alan! You’re quite the familiar figure around the garden; I’m happy we get a chance to learn a little more about you. What inspired you to get involved in the community garden, and how has it changed your life since?

Alan: I have been an avid gardener for years…well, actually decades. I was 19 years old when I fell in love with gardening at my father-in-law’s property in Jamul; there were all kinds of farm animals, fruit trees and a large garden to tend to. I just picked it up and have been gardening ever since. For here, it was around 2020/2021 when I reached out to San Carlos Community Garden about leasing a garden plot and since I’ve been leasing two plots each year. I’ve been involved with other community gardens over the years and I’ve found San Carlos a positive place to garden and be surrounded by chill people. 

Alan spent 22 years serving in the National Guard. These photos are from his time in the Iraq War in 2004.

SCCG: Your garden plots are always full and flourishing with a variety of plants. What’s your favorite thing to grow?

Alan: I love growing tomatoes, beets, turnips and cucumbers - but especially tomatoes. I’ve had the best luck with Better Boy, Early Girl and Rutgers tomatoes and for beets, it's been Queen Bee and Detroit Reds. And I like to grow lots - all from seed. In the past, I have grown 1000 tomatoes and 300-400 cucumbers a season. I haven’t had that much recently due to recovering from knee surgery and battling varmints, especially rats in my home garden, but we still sure do get a lot to enjoy.

Alan wasn’t joking around about growing every plant from seed!

He has hosted several plant sales over the years, providing 100’s of seedings.

This photo is from 2024 Spring Festival held at the San Carlos Community Garden.

SCCG: That's impressive! What do you do with your amazing harvest? 

Alan: My wife and I do a lot of canning, pickling and freezing. I love Better Boy tomatoes because they are great for sauces and juicing. Our pantry is full of jarred tomatoes. We even freeze beets - you gotta blanch them first to remove the skins before freezing, then gently boil when ready to eat. But don’t microwave frozen beets, or they will turn to mush. And what we don’t eat, we donate to a food bank. 

Alan’s Tip for Growing Big Beets & Turnips

When the beet or turnip greens are about 8-10 inches tall, start to prune the greens so the root will grow bigger. This makes the plant energy go to the root, and not to growing above soil.

And then enjoy the greens sauteed with garlic and butter, added to a soup or au gratin.

[Growing Community Note: while interviewing Alan, I overheard a neighboring plot gardener suggest for Alan to try his beet greens au gratin - that is a French technique for baking with cream and aromatics till bubbling and browned. Sounds delicious!]

SCCG: I like that tip about freezing beets - that's genius! What else do you like to make with your garden goodness and do you have a recipe to share?

Alan: We love chili. I make the chili sauce and my wife makes the final product with ground turkey and a variety of beans - we gotta make it healthier at our age (wink, wink). For my chili sauce I puree the Better Boy tomatoes and boil that down with sauteed onions, garlic, bell peppers and a few hot peppers for some kick. 

SCCG: Can you share a favorite memory or story from your time spent in the garden? 

Alan: Hmmmm….now you gotta make me think, huh? [Asked with an endearing grin.] Well, there’s a lot though I gotta say last year I grew a Better Boy tomato that was HUGE - it weighed 4 pounds! And I even had to pick it before it was fully ripe because I was nervous a rat would get to it first. That was a good memory.

Alan’s 4-Pound Better Boy Tomato

Last summer we were able to capture Alan and his amazing tomato garden. Watch this short video showing off his 4-Pounder and sharing tips for growing tomatoes.

SCCG: Ahhh….now I understand why you’re known as “Mr. Tomato”! What's the secret to your success?

Alan: It's all about the pruning! You need to trim off the suckers so energy goes to the fruit and not the new shoots. 

SCCG: Speaking of tips…If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting their own garden, what would it be?

Alan: Do your pre-work before planting! Loosen up your soil and add amendments as needed. I know this can be controversial advice, though from my experience, spending the time to loosen up your soil, taking out any big rocks, will help your plants’ roots and produce a better growing season. 

SCCG: You’ve had so much experience with home gardening and it’s wonderful how you share your knowledge. Has there been anything you learned being part of the community garden?

Alan: Well, yes there is - orchard care! As a plot gardener, we are asked to help out other areas of San Carlos Community Garden for a few hours throughout the year. I picked orchard care my first year even though I didn’t know much about it at all. That’s what I love about this place - you get to learn so much and practice what you learn, then adjust as needed. We have had a lot of success with our fig and persimmon trees, though citrus is my heart and soul to care for and eat.

Seeking Orchard Care Volunteers!

It takes a village to maintain a community garden and we need your help! No experience required - just an interest to help and learn.

With Orchard Care, you will weed, prune, spread mulch, fertilize and/or help with supplemental watering. Help can be conducted any day of the week with Alan or during Saturday’s Open House.

If interested, reach out directly to Alan when you see him in the garden or email info@sancarloscommunitygarden.com.

SCCG: It’s been a fun day interviewing you, Alan. Thank you so much for your time and all your tips!
[Growing Community Note: our interview was conducted during a busy Saturday at the garden over a 2 hour span. We often stopped to chat with the many visitors and it was a joy to see how many seek out Alan to say hello and ask him for his garden knowledge.]