Blending Art and Garden Activism...and Jersey Tomatoes

Jeff Quattrone talks about seed libraries, the Jersey tomato, and creative ways to share messages about food and gardening.

We chat with Jeff Quattrone about his work bringing seed libraries to New Jersey, plant propaganda (not propagation!), and the Jersey tomato.

Quattrone is an artist, lifelong gardener, and marketing professional.

He founded LIbrary Seed Bank in 2014.

Library Seed Bank

Quattrone talks about his journey into seed saving and helping to set up seed libraries.

“The whole idea that food can go extinct was something that shocked me because I didn’t understand diversity.”

Jersey Tomatoes

He is so passionate about Jersey tomatoes that he has a page devoted to them on his website.

“I think I’ve grown just about every one of them and I love them all!”

Quattrone explains that the traditional Jersey tomato was bred to be a 10-ounce, round, red tomato because of the canning industry in New Jersey.

“Jersey tomatoes, they’re part of our zeitgeist.”

Garden Propaganda

As a marketing professional, he finds that people often have a negative impression of the word propaganda. He looks at the fine line between propaganda and branding—and talks about why he thinks garden propaganda is important.