For South Bend's 'Tomato Man' Janowiak, it's all about 'the joy of growing'

The garden is small but mighty. Free of weeds and neatly cultivated. The garden is about the size of a city lot. Tomato plants are secured in cages. Green peppers over here and eggplants over there. A garden mannequin dressed in a bonnet and long dress tends to veggies near the road.

It is more than a garden to the owner, Dennis Janowiak . It is his happy place and his passion. Since the 1960s, he has grown organic vegetables for sale at his roadside stand. He said the tomatoes are famous and his customers love them.

He has a secret fertilizer formula that he has improved on over the years. Lots of compost and a few other things. “I make my own compost because the plants need a variety of nutrients. I’ve read a lot, tweaked it and experimented,” he said.

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He proudly wears his “Tomato Man” baseball cap. A bold claim? Not at all. He said many times his customers only know him as “Tomato Man.”

Dennis and his wife, RoseAnn , live in the 56000 block of Mayflower Road. The garden is on the north side of the house. The yard is decorated with pinwheels, metal flowers and statues. Cute as a button.

Back to the tomatoes, Dennis handles the garden and RoseAnn works the sales table in the yard. A smooth operation. The table comes out when the veggies are ready to be picked.

“People come to town for the tomatoes," he said. "It is a first stop for some visitors. One couple bought a few and turned around to buy more because they ate them in the car and had to get more. One woman picks up her son at the airport and brings him here so he can get a tomato.”

Dennis calls it the best sort of addiction.

Dennis is 84. He walks cautiously around, but that isn’t stopping him. “I’m going to keep doing this as long as I can. It isn’t for the money. It is for the joy of growing.”

Daughter Brenda Krathwohl said the family has been hearing that "this is the last year" for about seven years now. They will wait to see what happens next.

Gardening is in his blood. Dennis said he was raised on the westside on Langley and Olive streets. “I spent time in Bendix Park, which is now Kennedy Park. Back then, everyone had gardens for the fresh vegetables” and for canning for the winter months.

After high school, he attended classes for welding and body repair. He worked at Studebaker, Jeep and AM General. But his heart was on the farm. He bought the acre-plus on Mayflower in the 1960s. He retired in 1996.

Brenda said she grew up in the garden. Her dad had other garden plots nearby and they had pumpkins, watermelons and corn. The family has photo albums full of veggie shots.

“I spent every summer picking sweet corn from stalks taller than me," she said. "My parents are very loving, and we always had farm animals and horses. My brother and I participated in 4-H. Grandchildren were in 4-H. Now, it is another generation that enjoys the garden, the great-grandchildren. It is such a loving legacy.”

To her, it is a great time of the year for her parents. “My father states he is happiest when his hands are in the soil.”

Happiness starts when it is still cold. Dennis says he plants the seeds in the late winter in the basement. He moves the seedlings around to other pots. He uses grow lights until the plants can be moved into hot beds outside.

“The compost is all natural. The key is for the compost to decompose quickly,” he said. He grinds it. Control the water in the composter. The composting area is covered to keep out heavy rain and snow. And I mix and turn it,” he said. “Don’t use eggshells for calcium. It takes three years to break down. I used powdered milk.”

That was it for the growing secrets.

Sara St ewart , director of Unity Gardens , remembers Dennis coming to growing seminars. “He came to class with suggestions. He listened very closely.”

Dennis compared the tomato plants and the small tomatoes to a family. “The mother plant wants the children to grow with nutrients, sun and water. That’s the goal. Just like us. We want to keep going.”

And in the long run, good tomatoes make for a better life.

Kathy's email is kfborlik@yahoo.com .

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: For South Bend's 'Tomato Man' Janowiak, it's all about 'the joy of growing'