Kinder-gardeners learning all about tomatoes

It’s still early in the year to be planting outdoors… but Lester Park kinder-gardeners are learning all the tricks and trades of growing your own tomatoes.

From seed to sprout to harvest, these kids are partnered with high schoolers at Duluth East. The little ones are in charge of poking holes in the soil, dropping in the seed, and giving it some water. From there, the big kids take care of the tomato plants in the school’s greenhouse. Once the plants have grown up a bit, they’re brought back to the kindergarteners in May.

"The kids get really excited to have a grown plant," shared teacher, Connie Toscano. "It’s a really great project, because it’s about Ray Picconatto, who was a tomato man. And he wanted to install the love of gardening in students. So we do this project every year."

WDIO did a story with the Tomato Man’s family in 2016. Ray Picconatto passed away from cancer in 2010, but his legacy still lives on in these kinder-garden classes year after year.