Jack and the Tomato Stalk
This tomato plant came up in an empty planter where I had planted an avocado pit. When it first started to grow as a seedling, I thought it was an unusual avocado tree, but soon recognized the tell-tale smell of a tomato plant after having touched it. I had grown tomatoes in this planter last summer but while I was in Europe, some of them fell off and rotted at the base of the plant. I have tried to grow tomatoes all my life, but have never had one that has looked this healthy. It is growing 4-6 inches per day and already has set one tomato. I am amazed at the vigorous growth and the fact that it is almost perfectly symmetrical...about a foot above its base, it branches once then about a foot above that, it branches again on both of the first branches. Its leaves are as large as my hand. My friend Steph and I have joked that maybe it has some mystical power since it chose to live in my planter and is so very happy. I can hardly wait to see how well its fruit will grow.Categories: gardening photography tomato volunteer
posted by Ron Hudson at 6:44:00 AM
4 Comments:
i hade to sound crude, but it's okay to pee on tomatoes once in a while.
living in NC, should have plenty of sunshine.
anyway, good luck with the avacado. there's still time.
Cool! I hope you get tomatoes and avocadoes.
My most successful tomato growing has resulted from the scraps and seeds that end up in my compost pile. I notice tomatoes sprouting wherever I distribute the compost later. Some of them end up in places where they grow well and bear fruit.
At first that seemed odd to me. I grew up learning that seeds come in paper packets, and they must be planted in straight rows. Then during a casual online conversation someone commented on how well random seed scattering worked, and observed, "You know, they're just doing what they're supposed to do." We homo sapiens spend so much time pretending we're the center of the universe that we forget how many plants and animals got along just fine without us.
Our tomatoes are just doing what tomatoes evolved to do. The fruits fall on the ground, rot, and leave the seeds primed to grow later. They don't need us.
But we need them for tomato salad. Have you tried tomatoes with truffle oil (from Fowlers or Southern Season)? It's expensive, but a little goes a long way. mmmmmmm....
I haven not had dried tomatoes in truffle oil...yet, anyway...
There is nothing more exquisite than a plain old tomato sandwich made with Duke's mayonnaise and salt and pepper and eaten over a sink....yummm
Tomatoes are great for health and the immune system. Good health to you!
Post a Comment
<< Home