A weed is just a tomato out of place, or are they?

SlickNick · June 2, 2012

I was weeding the garden and found a few tomatoes from last year that self-seeded itself.

I am getting older and more tolerant, and tempted to just live and let live. I only grow heirlooms, with exeption of yellow pear cherry and sweet 100. Cherry tomatoes are like garden crack to me. I don't think many make it into my house, 90 some percent are eaten in the garden or as I am cutting the grass. I pluck a couple off, do a lap, pluck a few more... I probably shouldn't plant it on the edge of the garden like that.

Anybody have any success with "left-overs" from last year. Do they produce, or are the scraggly, are they weeds or just tomatoes out of place?

Anyway, enough ramblings from this grey haired coot. Is it worth the hassel or did I just save 3.99 on buying another heirloom from the store?

kath · June 2, 2012

Usually the "leftovers" just get pulled as weeds in my garden but in the past I let Matt's Wild Cherry that had self-sowed in decent locations live and fruit and they were normal MWC plants. I'm sure they'd have had ripe fruits sooner if I'd started indoors, but...

If you liked everything you grew last year and are prepared for the possibility that what grows might be a cross that turns out to be a spitter and most of all if you have the room, they should grow to look like perfectly respectable tomato plants. Only you can decide if there's another heirloom variety at the store that's calling your name, in which case, I'd spend the $3.99.

kath

BTW, welcome to Tomatoville!

kurt · June 2, 2012

If you knew what it was I would keep it.To me the wild ones are the strongest and best of the crop.Plus now you will have a good timeline indication of growing season.My friend in Western PA uses the wild volunteers only.She beleives they are best tomatoes in her garden every season.She lets plants die out and basically knows what they are from where they fall.She always comments she gets 100% germination,I guess she is right.

SlickNick · June 2, 2012

These couple came up after roto-tilling, and they are the other side of the garden from where I had the tomatoes. They are in Cuke country. I am swapping sides again anyway, so they are actually on the right side. I will stake them and label the "plantus unknownus" for now.

Thanks for the welcome, when ever I did research I stumbled onto this site, so I figured I might as well just book mark it and join.

b54red · June 2, 2012

I usually let at least a half dozen or more volunteers continue to grow if they are nice sturdy looking plants. Every year I find one or two that are kind of unique and usually one that is exceptional. I try to grow them out the next year but rarely do they run true for some reason. Usually if I plant out 3 to test from one I liked the last year maybe one will turn out to be the same tomato. I still keep trying because it is just fun to wait and see what you will get.

kath · June 2, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickNick

I will stake them and label the "plantus unknownus" for now.

...when ever I did research I stumbled onto this site, so I figured I might as well just book mark it and join.

Glad you decided to join- let us know if you're happy you saved your mystery plants.

kurt · June 2, 2012

The ones the person in PA was talking about were the ones that grow after winter,and start up after ground thaws out.I get them here in Fla but they would never make it past summer.

TomNJ · June 2, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickNick

I will stake them and label the "plantus unknownus" for now.

LOL!!! Welcome home Nick!

TomNJ

habitat_gardener · June 3, 2012

Usually I pull them out, but a few years ago one volunteer escaped my notice until it was a couple feet high, so I let it be. It turned out to be one of the best that year, a dark cherry tomato. But that's rare. Other volunteers that have survived have been so-so.

Last year I let a few cucurbit volunteers grow on the edge of the tomato bed. They turned out to be mini pumpkins! I have one healthy cucurbit volunteer this year, and I have no idea what it will turn out to be.

**carolyn137** · June 3, 2012

For many years I would deliberately dig up 10 volunteers and move them to a side garden place to see if I could ID them and that's all.

At the time I was growing several hundreds of plants and varieties but I knew what all of them were as to traits, as I wish everyone would before they plant out, and sometimes I could ID some, and sometimes not.

But I never saved seeds from any of them, even the ones that I thought were accidental cross pollinations or the ones I thought I knew and the latter b'c at the time I was listing hundreds of varieties in the SSE YEarbooks and I wanted to be SURE that what I listed were true to the variety. And I could only do that if I saved seeds from plants that I KNEW were that variety.

zabby17 · June 6, 2012

Nick,

The question I'd ask is, how big are they?

I see you are in Zone 5 like me, and a tomato that is started outside in Zone 5 most years doesn't get to set fruit until so late in the season you may not get much, or anything, out of it.

It could be the toughest, strongest little seedling out there, but if it is only just sprouting now, and only just flowering in late August, it's going to have its first ripe fruit by late September, just in time to be zapped by frost a week or two later.

BUT this has been a warm spring in many places, and so if ever there was a year when a volunteer 'mater had a good chance even up in the North country, this is it! If your volunteer is as big as a seedling you would trasnsplant from the store, or almost as big, then it should be fine! If it's still just a li'l sprout, it'll be well behind the others, but it might make it this year, IF it's a warm summer, and IF it's a pretty early variety---if it's not causing any harm, why not let it try?

Glad to hear from you.

Zabby
P.S. By the way, those yellow pear tomatoes *are* heirlooms! Been around since the 19th century. The Sweet 100s are hybrids, but like you, I wouldn't be without 'em. My, oh, my, I love me some cherry tomatoes, too, and eat them right off the vine.... (I only end up with enough for salads, etc. because I have 12 cherry tomato plants!)

koshki · June 7, 2012

My volunteers only seem to sprout in the cracks on my patio!

duderubble · June 7, 2012

Volunteers from hybrids are more fun--they're like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

My favorite story was the little volunteer that grew where better boys had grown the previous year, It was Illinois, so of course it was late and it was under the shade of the current year's OP varieties so it never had much of a chance, but I let it grow. It grew about a foot and a half tall, flowered and set one red fruit, that grew to about ping pong ball sized. My son and I ate it and we both swore it was the sweetest most delicious tomato ever. It never bloomed again and died ignominiously with me never saving seed.

June 2, 2012	#1
SlickNick Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Milwaukee WI Posts: 6	A weed is just a tomato out of place, or are they? I was weeding the garden and found a few tomatoes from last year that self-seeded itself. I am getting older and more tolerant, and tempted to just live and let live. I only grow heirlooms, with exeption of yellow pear cherry and sweet 100. Cherry tomatoes are like garden crack to me. I don't think many make it into my house, 90 some percent are eaten in the garden or as I am cutting the grass. I pluck a couple off, do a lap, pluck a few more... I probably shouldn't plant it on the edge of the garden like that. Anybody have any success with "left-overs" from last year. Do they produce, or are the scraggly, are they weeds or just tomatoes out of place? Anyway, enough ramblings from this grey haired coot. Is it worth the hassel or did I just save 3.99 on buying another heirloom from the store?

June 3, 2012	#10
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	For many years I would deliberately dig up 10 volunteers and move them to a side garden place to see if I could ID them and that's all. At the time I was growing several hundreds of plants and varieties but I knew what all of them were as to traits, as I wish everyone would before they plant out, and sometimes I could ID some, and sometimes not. But I never saved seeds from any of them, even the ones that I thought were accidental cross pollinations or the ones I thought I knew and the latter b'c at the time I was listing hundreds of varieties in the SSE YEarbooks and I wanted to be SURE that what I listed were true to the variety. And I could only do that if I saved seeds from plants that I KNEW were that variety. __________________ Carolyn

June 7, 2012	#12
koshki Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Grosse Pointe Shores, MI Posts: 127	My volunteers only seem to sprout in the cracks on my patio! __________________ Katherine

June 7, 2012	#13
duderubble Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 71	Volunteers from hybrids are more fun--they're like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. My favorite story was the little volunteer that grew where better boys had grown the previous year, It was Illinois, so of course it was late and it was under the shade of the current year's OP varieties so it never had much of a chance, but I let it grow. It grew about a foot and a half tall, flowered and set one red fruit, that grew to about ping pong ball sized. My son and I ate it and we both swore it was the sweetest most delicious tomato ever. It never bloomed again and died ignominiously with me never saving seed. __________________ Dude Rubble

June 2, 2012	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Usually the "leftovers" just get pulled as weeds in my garden but in the past I let Matt's Wild Cherry that had self-sowed in decent locations live and fruit and they were normal MWC plants. I'm sure they'd have had ripe fruits sooner if I'd started indoors, but... If you liked everything you grew last year and are prepared for the possibility that what grows might be a cross that turns out to be a spitter and most of all if you have the room, they should grow to look like perfectly respectable tomato plants. Only you can decide if there's another heirloom variety at the store that's calling your name, in which case, I'd spend the $3.99. kath BTW, welcome to Tomatoville!

June 2, 2012	#3
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,490	If you knew what it was I would keep it.To me the wild ones are the strongest and best of the crop.Plus now you will have a good timeline indication of growing season.My friend in Western PA uses the wild volunteers only.She beleives they are best tomatoes in her garden every season.She lets plants die out and basically knows what they are from where they fall.She always comments she gets 100% germination,I guess she is right.

June 2, 2012	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I usually let at least a half dozen or more volunteers continue to grow if they are nice sturdy looking plants. Every year I find one or two that are kind of unique and usually one that is exceptional. I try to grow them out the next year but rarely do they run true for some reason. Usually if I plant out 3 to test from one I liked the last year maybe one will turn out to be the same tomato. I still keep trying because it is just fun to wait and see what you will get.

June 3, 2012	#9
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	Usually I pull them out, but a few years ago one volunteer escaped my notice until it was a couple feet high, so I let it be. It turned out to be one of the best that year, a dark cherry tomato. But that's rare. Other volunteers that have survived have been so-so. Last year I let a few cucurbit volunteers grow on the edge of the tomato bed. They turned out to be mini pumpkins! I have one healthy cucurbit volunteer this year, and I have no idea what it will turn out to be.

June 6, 2012	#11
zabby17 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ontario Posts: 211	Nick, The question I'd ask is, how big are they? I see you are in Zone 5 like me, and a tomato that is started outside in Zone 5 most years doesn't get to set fruit until so late in the season you may not get much, or anything, out of it. It could be the toughest, strongest little seedling out there, but if it is only just sprouting now, and only just flowering in late August, it's going to have its first ripe fruit by late September, just in time to be zapped by frost a week or two later. BUT this has been a warm spring in many places, and so if ever there was a year when a volunteer 'mater had a good chance even up in the North country, this is it! If your volunteer is as big as a seedling you would trasnsplant from the store, or almost as big, then it should be fine! If it's still just a li'l sprout, it'll be well behind the others, but it might make it this year, IF it's a warm summer, and IF it's a pretty early variety---if it's not causing any harm, why not let it try? Glad to hear from you. Zabby P.S. By the way, those yellow pear tomatoes are heirlooms! Been around since the 19th century. The Sweet 100s are hybrids, but like you, I wouldn't be without 'em. My, oh, my, I love me some cherry tomatoes, too, and eat them right off the vine.... (I only end up with enough for salads, etc. because I have 12 cherry tomato plants!)