Volunteers!!!!!!

jenn_sc · May 7, 2006

I can't believe it y'all!!!!!

It appears that some volunteer tomatoes are sprouting up since the rains of the last few days!

This has never happened to me before. Last year worms ruined a good many ripe tomatoes, and I just buried a few of them under the mulch in the fall, and let them rot. (I thought, what the heck)

The mystery tomatoes are either Cherokee Purple, or Aunt Ruby's, or a mixture. Thank goodness I kept a garden journal and can look at last year's map. There must be a dozen or more. Now how in the world am I going to fit in more tomatoes? This year's planting is done.

But I can't bear to kill off the little tough guys

I am beyond excited about this, as silly as that is! I still can't believe it.

Jennifer

**carolyn137** · May 7, 2006

jennifer,

Just for fun every year I would take 10 volunteers from various areas of my large tomato field and plant them in my side 60X 90 smaller plot, just to see if I could ID them.

Now of course I had a plot plant for the large field, but I never paid attention to that since Charlie always plows in the Fall.

But who knows what you'll get. You may get some pure CP's and ARGG's and you may get some crosses from them and you may even get some bird dropped ones from elsewhere.

It's really great fun, so go for it if you have the room.

**carolyn137** · May 8, 2006

Well yes, John, my smaller plot.

Don't forgert that when I moved back East to care for my parents I had acres to fool around with at the ole family farm.

I chose the 1/4 acre field near the big lawn for my tomatoes, melons, peppers, b sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and similar and the rows were about 250 ft long. Aside from the about 800-1000 tomato plants I put out I'd have at least one 250 ft row of melons,and well, I just like to grow things.

That side plot was nearby and that's where I grew beets, carrots, Asian greens, lettuce, peas, celeriac, beans, turnips, summer squash ( winter squash was in the bigger field), cukes on a snowfence trellis, small Asian melons on that same trellis, radishes and I can't remember what else now, but you name it and I grew it.

I didn't grow corn b'c I had full stealing rights to all of what Charlie, my famer friend, grew and he is a corn specialist.

At one corner I grew annuals for cutting purposes.

And don't forget that I always grew at least 5-10 varieties of almost everything b'c at that time I was into my variety trialing to see what I liked best.

Too darn bad I never took pictures to remind me of how much fun I had doing all that for so many years. But I can still close my eyes and visualize the positions of everything for some years.

I did all the hand work in the smaller plot but Charlie or his men would cultivate for me in the big field until the stuff grew too much and they couldn't get thru with the cultivator without messing things up. AS it was, when Roy, Charlie's 80 yo cousin was cultivating I always had to stand by b'c invariably he'd hook out some of my tomato plants.

GreenThumbGal_07 · May 8, 2006

I now have a few volunteers (from last year's plants) in the containers on the office patio:

Nepal
Lollipop (yellow cherry)
Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid (F2)
Sugary Hybrid (F2)

Well, let's see how those F2 sprouts turn out.

The SBG ones are very tall and healthy. I think (I've thinned them to three) at least one will resemble the parent F1 plant, if the dehybridization doesn't happen all at once.

GTG

cthomato · May 9, 2006

Raising volunteers is great fun. On one hand, there is the mystery of what variety you've got or, even better, that you have the start of the next great cross. On the other hand, you now have some FREE plants you didn't even try to grow from seed. If you have the space, there is no downside IMHO.

Chris

honu · May 11, 2006

Congratulations Jenn! I used to pull them like weeds, but this year, I was grateful to have them pop up after Feb & March storms wiped out many of my carefully raised seedlings. I was pleasantly surprised by their health, vigor, and good flavor. Those birds know how to pick um.
If you have no more garden space, put them in pots and have fun.
One sprouted in the mulch of my strawberry pot. I should have transplanted it when it was small, but thought it wouldn't last long in the uncomposted coco chip mulch, but I was wrong. Too late to pull now, it's loaded w/ sweet orange cherry tomatoes, so I'm getting strawberries and cherry tomatoes from the same 5 gal pot.

svalli · May 12, 2006

Last year I spread my compost pile to one corner of the garden and planted my peppers there. I sprinkled some Preen on the area and went for vaction for three weeks. This is what I found, when I came back.

There must have been at least 1000 volunteer tomato plants. I weeded most of them and saved about 30. I gave some of them to friends as mystery plants, because previous year I had grown over 20 varieties, so I had no Idea what these could have been.

Yellow Pear has now volunteered in my garden for 6 years. I have not planted it since 1999 and still every year we have had at least one Yellow Pear come up at some corner of the garden.

kimpossible · May 13, 2006

OMG!

May 7, 2006	#1
jenn_sc SPLATT™ Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Florence, SC Posts: 502	Volunteers!!!!!! I can't believe it y'all!!!!! It appears that some volunteer tomatoes are sprouting up since the rains of the last few days! This has never happened to me before. Last year worms ruined a good many ripe tomatoes, and I just buried a few of them under the mulch in the fall, and let them rot. (I thought, what the heck) The mystery tomatoes are either Cherokee Purple, or Aunt Ruby's, or a mixture. Thank goodness I kept a garden journal and can look at last year's map. There must be a dozen or more. Now how in the world am I going to fit in more tomatoes? This year's planting is done. But I can't bear to kill off the little tough guys I am beyond excited about this, as silly as that is! I still can't believe it. Jennifer

May 7, 2006	#2
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	jennifer, Just for fun every year I would take 10 volunteers from various areas of my large tomato field and plant them in my side 60X 90 smaller plot, just to see if I could ID them. Now of course I had a plot plant for the large field, but I never paid attention to that since Charlie always plows in the Fall. But who knows what you'll get. You may get some pure CP's and ARGG's and you may get some crosses from them and you may even get some bird dropped ones from elsewhere. It's really great fun, so go for it if you have the room. __________________ Carolyn

May 8, 2006	#3
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Well yes, John, my smaller plot. Don't forgert that when I moved back East to care for my parents I had acres to fool around with at the ole family farm. I chose the 1/4 acre field near the big lawn for my tomatoes, melons, peppers, b sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and similar and the rows were about 250 ft long. Aside from the about 800-1000 tomato plants I put out I'd have at least one 250 ft row of melons,and well, I just like to grow things. That side plot was nearby and that's where I grew beets, carrots, Asian greens, lettuce, peas, celeriac, beans, turnips, summer squash ( winter squash was in the bigger field), cukes on a snowfence trellis, small Asian melons on that same trellis, radishes and I can't remember what else now, but you name it and I grew it. I didn't grow corn b'c I had full stealing rights to all of what Charlie, my famer friend, grew and he is a corn specialist. At one corner I grew annuals for cutting purposes. And don't forget that I always grew at least 5-10 varieties of almost everything b'c at that time I was into my variety trialing to see what I liked best. Too darn bad I never took pictures to remind me of how much fun I had doing all that for so many years. But I can still close my eyes and visualize the positions of everything for some years. I did all the hand work in the smaller plot but Charlie or his men would cultivate for me in the big field until the stuff grew too much and they couldn't get thru with the cultivator without messing things up. AS it was, when Roy, Charlie's 80 yo cousin was cultivating I always had to stand by b'c invariably he'd hook out some of my tomato plants. __________________ Carolyn

May 13, 2006	#8
kimpossible Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Z5b SW Ont Canada Posts: 767	OMG! __________________ *So Many Tomatoes ... So Little Time*

May 8, 2006	#4
GreenThumbGal_07 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern California Posts: 300	I now have a few volunteers (from last year's plants) in the containers on the office patio: Nepal Lollipop (yellow cherry) Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid (F2) Sugary Hybrid (F2) Well, let's see how those F2 sprouts turn out. The SBG ones are very tall and healthy. I think (I've thinned them to three) at least one will resemble the parent F1 plant, if the dehybridization doesn't happen all at once. GTG

May 9, 2006	#5
cthomato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: SoCal z10 Posts: 96	Raising volunteers is great fun. On one hand, there is the mystery of what variety you've got or, even better, that you have the start of the next great cross. On the other hand, you now have some FREE plants you didn't even try to grow from seed. If you have the space, there is no downside IMHO. Chris

May 11, 2006	#6
honu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 270	Congratulations Jenn! I used to pull them like weeds, but this year, I was grateful to have them pop up after Feb & March storms wiped out many of my carefully raised seedlings. I was pleasantly surprised by their health, vigor, and good flavor. Those birds know how to pick um. If you have no more garden space, put them in pots and have fun. One sprouted in the mulch of my strawberry pot. I should have transplanted it when it was small, but thought it wouldn't last long in the uncomposted coco chip mulch, but I was wrong. Too late to pull now, it's loaded w/ sweet orange cherry tomatoes, so I'm getting strawberries and cherry tomatoes from the same 5 gal pot.

May 12, 2006	#7
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Last year I spread my compost pile to one corner of the garden and planted my peppers there. I sprinkled some Preen on the area and went for vaction for three weeks. This is what I found, when I came back. There must have been at least 1000 volunteer tomato plants. I weeded most of them and saved about 30. I gave some of them to friends as mystery plants, because previous year I had grown over 20 varieties, so I had no Idea what these could have been. Yellow Pear has now volunteered in my garden for 6 years. I have not planted it since 1999 and still every year we have had at least one Yellow Pear come up at some corner of the garden.