The Tomato Plant That Ate My Yard

I thought this volunteer was so cute when I first noticed it. It was one of those red currant tomatoes. You know, the tomatoes from my article about Teenie Tiny Tomatoes. It started to grow near my patio, pretty far from my vegetable garden. I just thought "What a little survivor—I’ll just let it grow here in between these flagstones. I mean, how big can it get? After all, it’s growing in a two-inch by three-inch area."

Finally, realizing that it would soon swallow my house, I pulled it out. I actually cut it out. The root is still there. I tried pulling it out. My husband tried pulling it out. I stopped short of tying a chain to it, hooking it to the bumper of my car and ripping it to Kingdome Come. Soon the left over root will just rot away. At least I think it will. Hmmm.

Here are the before and after photos. Oh look what I found; a barbeque, a propane tank, three small ceramic pots from Smith and Hawken, a lady bug ball, Three large ceramic pots filled with flowers, a flagstone walkway and a stone wall.

As I was hauling the plant to the curb, I noticed how many tomatoes it still had on it. I sort of felt bad when I saw all the tomato babies. I hope I don’t get in trouble with any vegetable rights groups.

Comments

[Annie in Austin]

Hi Chigiy,

Good thing there were no car keys or remotes missing - you wouldn't have found them until now.

What a sneaky plant! If Philo saw those little green fruit we might be eating hot and sweet tomato pickles for months!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

[kate]

Talk about a big tomato plant ... it is amazing when I remember those teeny-tiny tomatoes.If you hadn't pulled it out, I wonder how much more it would have grown. Scary ...

[Carol]

I hope you didn't anger the "tomato gods" when you hauled that to the curb. They might have been less angry if you had a least hauled it to your compost bin.

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

[Muum]

I guess there is such a thing as too much success? Obviously, this was a Champion Plant, winner of the teeny tiny tomato contest, and then vying for the title of 'world's biggest tomato plant'

[chigiy Binell]

Annie,
funny you should mention the car key thing because I am missing one of our downstair phones. Hmmm. Next year I'll make the pickeled tomatoes. This year I'm still getting over the Peruvian Fluvian.

Kate,
I don't know how much it would have grown. I'm not sure I want to know.

Carol,
I feel guilty for not hauling it to my compost pile but it did go to a community compost pile.

Muum,
Who knew that a plant that produced something so small would grow so big.

[Jacqueline]

Obviously, this plant was looking for you while you were away....

Next time, let all your plants know where you will be and when you will return, or I will report you to the veggie rights people.
:)