While I was wheezing, whining and windging away, two volunteer yellow pear tomato plants, from at least two years ago, popped up next to the old tomato bed. I was too busy carrying on to be bothered yoinking them out, so they went on doing what tomato plants do when they are left alone - they grew. And grew. Pretty soon, not only were they the largest and healthiest plants in my garden, but I didn't have the heart to yoink them because they at least gave the outward appearance that my garden flourished.
It's really amazing how easily one (I) can manage to ignore something so large and invasive. They ended up sprawling over two raised beds and all the pathways between. I didn't give them the time of day. There was no blight. There was no disease. I wish I could have said that about the tomato plants I DID plant.
After the relief of the first light frost, I couldn't clear the beds fast enough. However, while preparing to give the volunteers the old heave-ho, I realized that they were covered with little green tomatoes. I did a quick mental review of all my pickling recipes and decided that I would pick them all, green, and then pickle them to serve with martinis.
I picked two gallons of little elongated orbs.
I believe, this next year, I will just toss over-ripe tomatoes here and there and see what develops.
P.S. Kale takes quite well to bullying...
16 comments:
Sometime things just flourish on their own! I let my green tomatoes ripen on the counter, then either freeze them for pasta sauce or soup. Those are great for salsa too! Enjoy!
an acquaintance that I buy honey from led me back to their greenhouse where a tomato plant had volunteered. it was a monster and covered with tomatoes. my two main raised beds have been overcome with johnson grass and nut grass, the main reason I didn't do a winter garden, didn't want to go through the futile effort of weeding them out. I think I'm just going to abandon them and start anew this spring.
There's got to be an object lesson here somewhere, but I don't have the mental or emotional energy to look. Glad you got to enjoy some ripe tomatoes; if you had left them to ripe on the vine, they would have split!
Growing stuff has done wonders for my control gene. Not that I don't still rail and wail at particularly vexatious situations. I managed to make two batches of green tomato chutney.
I'm sure there's a rule somewhere that dictates that the most over-looked, uncared-for, neglected plants in the garden are the ones that thrive. This year I had a squash seed that planted itself on the ground behind the compost bin which was smooshed up again a fence. It grew straight up that fence like it was on steroids. I think the fact that you got so many of those yummy pear tomaters is wonderful. (Pickled tomatoes in martinis????)
Year before I had four volunteer tomato plants come up by my chicken coop. I gave them tomatoes off and on and I guess when they scratched ad pooped they threw the seeds just outside their coop. A wonderful unexpected bonus. Now I'm waiting for pumpkins, melons of all sorts, blueberries, etc. to come up, cause that's what they eat during the Summer. Heck, I won't have to put in a garden at all! Have a Happy Thanksgiving...
my volunteers are always better than the ones i baby. survival of the fittest and all that. i just used the last of my jalapenos in the corn pudding i made today. it was a great year for peppers and not much else.
Mother Nature almost always seems to do best when left to it. Lucky you having sweet yummy little tomatoes still. I am jealous. Got snow?
Well, OF COURSE they didn't have blight! Some of my healthiest things grow out of my compost container (which obviously isn't "hot" enough if I'm growing tomatoes there). I've thought of just giving up on vegetable gardening. My strawberry bed is more grass and bindweed than it is strawberries (and how much fun is it to weed amongst strawberry plants). -Jenn
Some of my best tomatoes have come from volunteer plants. This year one of them jumped the fence and went charging across the lawn Last year I had pumpkins come up in the front flower garden.
Cheers
Volunteer world at it's finest!... My Moms Best plants in Wyoming were the volunteers that reseeded themselves into the harshness and mean environment on the ranch! Being that there are only three seasons in Wyoming :::July...August... And Winter ... That's saying something!!! Good on you that those yellow tomatoes proved once again that the strong volunteers do thrive!!! Exactly how do you bully Kale... Do tell!!!
A hardy volunteer with no blight? You might be on to something there. Save some seeds!
Que lindos frutos. Cumprimentos.
Wow! I have had great success at the last ditch effort I gave at them this year. And now late November I have picked several rounds of mystery heritage cherry type tomatoes. The tomatoes from the nursery sale table are offering up their last gasp of fruit. The last of ripening in a pottery bowl on the kitchen sink.
The kale is loving life in the green house along with two , small but persistent cabbage starts and another from seed start heritage cherry type tomato plant.
All this plus visits from children and family have been a thankful diversion from the other part of life.
What a lovely story! I'm so glad you got to enjoy the fruits of your garden, planted by you or not. Happy Thanksgiving.
That's pretty cool Susan! I wish I had that kind of luck!!
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