Underwater Tomato Plants

Jeannine Anne · June 16, 2010

I can offer some info re plants under water.

I was still working in the UK 3 years ago in Hull when there was tremendous floods, wiped out the school I worked in and many houses around me, my house was on a road that was on higher ground so we and my neighbours were OK . We had some more growing space at a community garden about three miles from the house, I had 5 greenhouses there filled with tomatoes, The roads were closed for 2 days till the water started to go down, once the road was clear we managed to get to the edge where the plots started . The gardens sloped into a dip so I knew my greenhouses were partially underwater I managed to wade in from the higher part for about 500 yards as I had a couple of tomato plants in big pots that I dearly wanted to save, I got in on the 3nd day, the plants were under water apart from the top few inches, water got deeper the closer I got so when I reached them I was up to my mid thigh. I managed to lug the two water logged pots back to the high ground, let them drain a bit and take them home with the help of a very nice fireman who thought I was quite mad. They were pretty miserable looking and filthy dirty , we put them to drain on their sides for a few hours and put them in the home greenhouse, they bucked up and grew on just fine. We lost everything else including all the soft fruit bushes,and all the other tomatoes of course, only the 30 year old grape vine survived. The tomatoes would have been under water for proably 2 days completely and then the third day partially.

We never expected them to bounce back but they did and they grew very well, probably because the sewers had overflowed!!

Bit of a rambling story but thought I would share it.

XX Jeannine

June 16, 2010	#16
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	I can offer some info re plants under water. I was still working in the UK 3 years ago in Hull when there was tremendous floods, wiped out the school I worked in and many houses around me, my house was on a road that was on higher ground so we and my neighbours were OK . We had some more growing space at a community garden about three miles from the house, I had 5 greenhouses there filled with tomatoes, The roads were closed for 2 days till the water started to go down, once the road was clear we managed to get to the edge where the plots started . The gardens sloped into a dip so I knew my greenhouses were partially underwater I managed to wade in from the higher part for about 500 yards as I had a couple of tomato plants in big pots that I dearly wanted to save, I got in on the 3nd day, the plants were under water apart from the top few inches, water got deeper the closer I got so when I reached them I was up to my mid thigh. I managed to lug the two water logged pots back to the high ground, let them drain a bit and take them home with the help of a very nice fireman who thought I was quite mad. They were pretty miserable looking and filthy dirty , we put them to drain on their sides for a few hours and put them in the home greenhouse, they bucked up and grew on just fine. We lost everything else including all the soft fruit bushes,and all the other tomatoes of course, only the 30 year old grape vine survived. The tomatoes would have been under water for proably 2 days completely and then the third day partially. We never expected them to bounce back but they did and they grew very well, probably because the sewers had overflowed!! Bit of a rambling story but thought I would share it. XX Jeannine