Time for a gardening picture, methinks. Well, this is so odd I thought I’d share. A while ago I spotted a weed growing out of the steps out at the front of the house. This happens a lot, which is fine. What does not often happen (in fact, it has never happened before) is that I reached to pull it out and noticed that it is an unusual weed, but familiar-looking. I touched it, and immediately could detect a distincitve smell – it is a tomato plant. A tomato plant!
Well, of course, I could not bear to do anything to it, and left it there thinking it would eventually run its course and die. Well, I had a look the other day and it is getting really big and healthy! Thing is, I’ve no idea how it got there. I’ve never had tomato plants or seeds out at the front. How come it just started growing there spontaneously? Bizarre. You’re welcome to make up your own explanations at this point. I can’t think of a plausible one.
Since it continues to do so well, I decided I would transplant it to the back garden where I actually do have tomato plants, but now it is stuck in the steps, and I cannot pull it up. It is well and truly stuck. Surely it can’t grow any more without damaging its stem…. I’ve no idea what is going to happen.
-cvj
April 9th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Maybe you’ll end up with a bonsai tomato.
April 9th, 2006 at 9:41 am
While looking for what the future of that tomato might be, I came across this, which you might enjoy.
http://users.aristotle.net/~russjohn/literary/garden.html
April 9th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Arun,
Yes, that was quite enjoyable! Thanks!
-cvj
April 9th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
My guess: It will not die, but destroy your bricks by erosion.
April 9th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
I am with “f.” on the future of the plant. Unless careless foot traffic destroys its stalk and branches it will probably continue to grow, assuming that the root system finds soil, water, and nutrients. As for the “first cause?” It could be a host of things from animal and bird poop to spilled, fresh made salsa, from wind-born detritus to the usual crud on the sidewalks picked up by our shoes.
April 9th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Enjoy the short life of thie annual plant trapped between the confines of mortared brick. If this plant is able to bear fruit, then cultivate its seeds in your garden. In turn, enjoy the short lives of its offspring. Without sounding too spooky, let the life of this tomato continue to cycle on… Best Wishes on Growing Tomatoes.
April 9th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Hahaha… crazy! The ability of plants to grow everywhere never ceases to amaze me. I’m also with f.; if a tree’s roots can grow into my cousins’ metal pipes, I’m sure even a mere tomato could deal with some measly mortar.
Hope you get some tomatoes out of it!
April 9th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
Would you like some Datura metel seeds? It’s the same family (Solanaceae , deadly nighthshade – tomato, potato, eggplant, chile, tobacco). If you give it decent soil and lots of sun it flowers insanely. Fantastic evening scent for its flowers. Don’t eat it.
April 9th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
Ha! I just now finished planting tomato seeds (4 different varieties) in a little box gardening set I picked up at the hardware store. The set is sitting on my kitchen table, where it will get plenty of sun, and I am eagering watching for germination. Wanna bet my tomatoes don’t do as well as the hardy plant growing in the bricks on Clifford’s front steps?!
April 10th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Yes, the exuberance of life, even in a stony, hostile universe.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Tomatoes are hardy and adventurous fellows, and spring up in all sorts of places, where ever their seeds happen to fall. A most spectacualr demonstration of this was seen in sewage plants some forty or fifty years ago here in the UK. The finest tomato plants used to spring up everywhere in these places. In those more relaxed times, these were allowed to run their full course, yielding splendid fruits, much larger and more varied in shape than those allowed to make it to the supermarket shelves of today. Quite as remarkable in their way as the fully functioning shoal of piranhas that established itself in a factory side canal in St. Helens, Lancashire; the thermal effluent kept them quite cheerful throughout the year.
April 10th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
It is good to know that tomatoes will probably survive our upcoming nuclear war with Iran.
July 28th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
[...] In other news, you might recall (from an earlier post) my wondering what would happen to a surprise tomato plant that started growing out of a crack in the steps. I could not get it out without colling it and was sure that it would eventually just die due to lack of space, water, and nutrition. I was wrong! Here it is (picture right). I ate those very tasty cherry tomatoes for lunch the other day. [...]
March 14th, 2007 at 2:43 am
[...] Here’s some remarkable news from the garden. You may remember that last April I noticed a tiny tomato plant growing out of a crack in some steps, and that I promised to keep an eye on it? (Picture, left.) [...]