A perfectly good tomato plant I won’t miss at all


In better days, the tomato leaves were somewhat attractive.

At first I was excited when a small heirloom tomato plant purchased on a whim began to bear small yellow tomatoes a couple months back. Then I was impressed when the thing grew to about 9 feet and produced several ponderous branches, all loaded with fruit. Then I became annoyed when it dominated most of the bed it was in, hiding a rose bush (the lovely David Austin Charlotte), and leaning all over my Black Knight buddleia.

The tomatoes are fine, but not nearly as good as what I can buy at our local farmers’ market, where I am not restricted to yellow, orange, green, or red, but can buy a rainbow of great-tasting, locally-grown tomatoes. So, having put up with this monstrous thing for a while, today I ignored all the little maturing maters hanging in bunches all up and down its length and pulled the whole thing out, including its 4 stakes. Easy enough—not much of a root system there. I stuffed it into the compost bin, and the whole garden seemed to breath a sigh of relief.


No edibles here, now that it’s gone.

Now, you can see my new panicum Ruby Ribbons (not ruby yet), the new Charlotte buds, and the whole bed looks airier. I cut down the rudbeckia Herbstsonne too for good measure. Aahhhh!

I don’t need to grow tomatoes. Let that be a lesson to me. However, I am considering some ornamental peppers next year.

Comments

Pam J. said…
Those peach flowers are tomatoes in bloom?? I've never seen such tomato blossoms. My body flinched when I read that you ripped it out, but I admire the strength (of mind, not body) that allowed you to give up when you felt the time was right. I am a gardening hoarder and am nearly incapable of ripping out inappropriate plants or flowers. Such a handicap.
Katie said…
I did the same thing right before GWA. Yanked a HUGE yellow pear tomato vine. My garden is thanking me. I think I'm sticking to ornamentals. Lots of yummy stuff at my local farmer's market to buy.
My daughter grows those little purple hot peppers. THey go through a maturing hues of purple, yellow, orange,and then red. They are so pretty and unusual looking.
Good for you! Can't have a stupid tomato killing a beautiful Rose. I'm looking forward to more on your Panicum. 'Ruby Ribbons' is one I'm thinking about planting here.
EAL said…
No the leaf is a tomato leaf. the flowers are diascia, sweetly resting on the leaf.
danger garden said…
But to be able to walk outside your kitchen door and pluck a warm ripe tomato off the vine, snip some basil and have a tasty fresh treat right there, without having to go to the farmers market...heaven.
Amy G. said…
I'm sorry your tomatoes didn't suit you! We keep most of ours in pots, though the ones in the ground fared a bit better. Definitely try some peppers. We love to grow hot ones, and they come in so many beautiful shapes and colors -- plus the plants don't get overly large and take over things.
Julie said…
We pulled ours up yesterday while they still were producing too. Ours didn't get going until really late this summer, almost fall. We had our full of tomatoes from the in laws garden all summer long and were ready to move on by the time ours started producing. We are picking a different kind next year.
F said…
This Aaahhh is not a sigh of relief; it's one of confusion and frustration. I'm surprised so many people are running the other way from vegetables. Sure it takes a couple growing seasons to get in the swing of things, but once you have an appropriately sited tomato it won't crowd the garden. Maybe next year instead of planting no tomatoes you will plant one in a space that can benefit from it - say next the bleeding heart or some other spring ephemeral.
Anonymous said…
9 FEET high? Wowsa! That is one huge tomato plant! Sounds like the makings of a scary movie--just in time for Halloween! LOL.
Anonymous said…
That was a huge tomato plant. What did you feed it? I can't seem to grow mine that big. I'm not sure if it's the aphids or the soil. I'm thinking about using some Safer Brand Tomato Insect spray this year to deal with the aphids. I’ve read that it works well and can be used up to the day of harvest.
Here's the spray I was talking about:
http://www.saferbrand.com/store/garden-care/5085

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