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A couple of months ago, something strange started happening in my garden. Amidst all of the construction rubble and the plants ruined by dumpsters or trucks that can’t back out of my driveway straight (see photo of flattened peony, above), these little rogue tomato plants started popping up.
There was one in the pachysandra (see photo, left), one beneath the overgrown rose beside the faucet and, oddest of all, one in a planter. As pretty much all gardening in my life has ceased in the face of the kitchen renovation mess -- weeding at this point would just be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic -- I watched these funny little tomato plants grow with mild interest and not much thought. I vaguely wondered how tomato plants could be growing spontaneously in my yard, because in my experience a tomato plant is something to be bought by Mother’s Day, planted with compost, weeded regularly and staked to within an inch of its life. I finally remembered that I had in fact grown cherry tomatoes last summer and, I admit it, was not always good about picking the ripe ones. I clearly am no botanist but the only thing I can figure is that there were somehow seeds that got carried away (by birds?) and grew the following spring. I did nothing to earn these tomatoes, and they feel like a gift. I do suspect that someone or something is eating them, because every time I send Eldest out to pick a few from the plant near the faucet, which is the only one that gets enough sun to actually produce fruit, he comes back empty-handed. Then again Eldest loves tomatoes and could in fact be eating them on the short walk between the garden and the front door. And who am I to scold him for that? At least it’s not a Swedish Fish tree. So, question to those who know much more about gardening than I do: How does a tomato seed survive a Northeast winter? Have I been just throwing money down the drain buying new plants every year? Are tomatoes secretly perennials?
Finally, for any kind soul with a few spare minutes: look at the other photo from my garden. Is that a weed or a flower? I don’t remember planting anything like this but it looks too interesting to be a weed.
Posted by: Aubrey| September 19, 2007 at 03:55 PM My mother used to put this black plastic type stuff in her tomato beds to discourage weed growth; I wonder if something like that would keep your roots cooler? Or maybe it would have the opposite effect. Hi, Kristin. If you are finding "volunteer" tomato plants, chances are they came from an heirloom or open-pollinated seed. Hybrid varieties, on the other hand, are chemically treated and, quite often, sterile. Many varieties of cherry, yellow, and roma tomatoes fall into the heirloom category and can be grown from year to year from saved seeds. Some will even "winter over" and germinate on their own, as yours did. If you manage to get just one little tomato from your unexpected crop, save about a dozen seeds. Plant them in starter pots indoors in February, and transplant the strongest seedlings to your garden in mid-May. They'll be one of the most rewarding things growing in your garden next year. PS: I'm *crazy* about your magazine. When a new issue arrives, I save it for that upcoming Saturday morning. I even get up a little early so that I can read uninterrupted for an hour or so. As a graphic designer, I fell in love instantly with the typography, page layouts, and photographs. (Your stylists are gods...) As a single woman and homeowner, working full-time in the business of making people and things look good, I find every issue to be inspiring, informative...and fun! Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you! I have to agree that our stylists are gods, as are all the talented people in the art dept. As for my tomatoes, I'll see what I can do. I'm such a last-minute gardener that I'm not sure I'll be organized enough to plant seeds indoors in February; that's about the time of year I'm finally getting around to throwing out the Christmas cards. Kristin- I can't tell you for sure but I do have a darling little daughter-in-law, who is from another country, and she would eat it....she eats everything, it's scary...her husband, my son, has had to stop her a few times while we were camping, but it turns out, she is always right. Seems like we get a little too "picky" about what we will eat..... ask your county extension agent, they pretty much know everything, but take a sample to them. The plant you're trying to identify is called - charmingly - rattlesnake master, and it's a plant native to North America. Now does that qualify it as a weed? |
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I wish I had your luck. Summer in South Carolina scorches any attempt I make to grow tomatoes, and I believe that my friends who succeed have secretly sold their souls to the rain/harvest gods. How you managed to accidentally get tomato plants is nothing short of a miracle.