Craig LeHoullier, Amateur Plant Breeder and Heirloom Tomato Expert
Name: Craig LeHoullier
Occupation: Writer, blogger, amateur plant breeder
Place of Residence: Raleigh, North Carolina
Background and Personal History: Craig received a PhD in chemistry from Dartmouth College in 1982 and completed post-doctoral work in chemistry at the University of Washington in 1983. He held various roles in the pharmaceutical industry between 1984 and 2008, including chemist and project manager, followed by nearly two years of consulting with the same company.
Craig contracted with Storey Publishing in 2012 to write Epic Tomatoes, then again in 2014 to write Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales. He is currently busy promoting the books and providing numerous workshops around the country. He is already planning 2016-2017 events as well as writing his third book.
Current Projects: Craig is on book promotion tour for Epic Tomatoes, setting the upcoming book promotion and tomato workshop events at various venues, updating his website and blog, devising a totally new, all-heirloom weekly podcast, tomato know-how video series and pondering topics for future books.
Craig is co-leading the Dwarf Tomato breeding project to put 36 new dwarf-growing, open-pollinated tomatoes in the hands of various small seed companies.
Other Fun Facts: He is deeply interested in music (alternative rock, classical, jazz listener and strummer of the guitar), movies (especially off-beat and independent), politics (which he keeps very separate from his gardening persona!), bird-watching, home coffee roasting and beer making, cooking, photography, kayaking, hiking and biking – pretty much anything and everything. Craig believes life is too short for all of the amazing things that there are to do!
Photography by © Shoe Heel Factory. Used with permission of Storey Publishing.
