Weird tomato question

[WolverineDG]

Last year, before I got sick, I planted 3 tomato seeds that sprouted. I was in the hospital for about a month in August & when I got home, 2 had died. One had a little green near the ground, so I babied it back & it grew, eventually forming one tomato in November. It never ripened, but since the plant never died, I kept watering it & babying it. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the tomato is ripening AND there is new growth, again near the ground. What the heck should I do? Let the tomato ripen, then trim the main stem down to the new growth & let that grow? :shrug:

dg

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Tomatoes are perennials grown as annuals. I'd say remove the tomato, trim back the stem & wait.

I'd remove the tomato to stimulate new growth. I always remove early tomatoes if the plant isn't very big. Good luck.

[WolverineDG]

2. My dad always swore tomatoes were perennials

but could never get them to last more than one season. Well, I got him beat. ;) Thanks for the advice!

dg

[uppityperson]

3. We had one for 3 yrs, moved it in in the winter, out in the spring (containered)

I'd let the tomato ripen, while pinching back any parts that wanted to branch out further, letting those close to the ground grow instead.

We left ours out on the porch this winter, got tired of it taking up so much room inside, now I really miss it and miss having tomatoes in June.

[WolverineDG]

4. The tomato is almost ripe

:o

:wtf: it stayed green all winter & in one week, it turns red? Should I save the seeds from this plant or what? :rofl:

dg

[Raksha]

5. I would definitely save the seeds from it.

I'm always very interested in "freak" tomatoes that are either ultra-vigorous or cold hardy or both. I have one right now that I'm watching with great interest, from a seed started by accident in November or December.

I guess I should explain that: I almost always start my seeds by the "wet paper towel method" which is the same method used for germination test. That's my default method of seed starting because I consistently get faster and better germination that way. So one night I was checking my seeds and eating something with tomatoes in it at the same time. I can't even recall if it was a sandwich or a salad, but apparently three tomato seeds dropped onto one of my wet paper towels and germinated there. I can't recall what I was trying to start on that particular paper towel, but even in SoCal, we don't usually start tomato seeds in November. So it was probably kale or some other winter veggie.

When I noticed the sprouted tomato seeds, I decided what the hell and planted them in my Bio-Dome on the front porch. One never came up. The other two grew nicely until we had some freezing nights in late December. One of the seedlings croaked, but the other one just laughed at the cold and kept right on growing. It began producing flowers and then started setting fruit...in FEBRUARY!

My mystery tomato has been transplanted twice so far. It's now in a one-gallon pot and has three baby tomatoes on it, but they are still too small to identify. About all I know is that it's an indeterminate type. If I was eating a salad when I accidentally started the seeds, it would be a seed from Trader Joe's "Mini Pearl" grape tomatoes, because that's what I was putting in salads at the time. If I was eating a sandwich...well, then it's strictly up for grabs. It would have been from a supermarket tomato--therefore no way to determine the variety.

But whatever it is, you better believe I am saving the seeds from those first tomatoes when they ripen.

[WolverineDG]

6. I just caved & ate it today

but I stood there with a knife at the sink & cleaned out all the seeds before popping it in my mouth. :) It had a sweet/tangy flavor. :9

dg

[Raksha]

7. I'm glad it tasted good...even more reason to save the seeds!

My mystery tomato now has three baby tomatoes in the first flower cluster, and that's not the only open cluster on the plant either. Still too soon to tell whether it's a grape tomato or a bigger one, though.

[WolverineDG]

8. Well I think the maid tossed my experiment

my bad cuz I forgot to tell her what not to touch, but Lazarus the tomato plant is blooming already. :)

dg