Subject: planting sliced tomatoes

From: helen ruth etters <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 08:55:49 -0500

when I stir my compost, I sometimes notice tomato seedlings.  Are
these just as good as the seedlings I'd buy?  Should I move them
into the garden? ( I *do* bring the avacado sprouts in when I find
them sprouting in the compost.)  And so this leads to the next
logical step: if I can use the tomato seedlings I find in the
compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates
and plant the leftovers?

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From: [email-masked] (Jen Mayer)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 05:35:00 GMT

EE> logical step: if I can use the tomato seedlings I find in the
EE> compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates and
EE> plant the leftovers?

The only disadvantage is you don't know what you're going to get - most 
store-bought tomatoes are hybrids of one type or another and hybrids are 
unpredictable when you plant their seeds.

I've got three volunteer tomatoes growing right now from last year's 
discards and although they're growing in wild form, they have many many 
blossoms already.  Can't wait to see what I get!

 * RM 1.3 01256 * "Bother," said Pooh as the pin fell out the grenade

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From: [email-masked] (Craig & Joan Mathew)
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 95 19:58:15 PST

[email-masked] says...
>compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates

Hello,
  As a matter of fact, a colleague of mine was telling me just last week 
that he used to do this very thing in his own garden once upon a 
time...tomato seeds are, apparently, extremely hardy and will sprout even 
though having gone through lots of wear 'n' tear.  He said he used to bury 
some of his kitchen scraps around various places in his garden, too, and 
said he had tomato seedlings running *rampant* around his garden!  Said he 
had to pull 'em out there were so many all over the place...now that's a 
garden I wish I'd had!! (I'm a first-year gardener)    :)
  Please do tell us if you try this and whether it works for you.  I'm sure 
many of us would be quite interested in this new 'recycling' method.  ;)

Joan

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From: [email-masked] (Gary Cooper)
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 15:25:23 +0000

> compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates

There's no reason at all why you shouldn't do this - *except*
you won't know what variety you are growing. If the seeds you
started with were F1 hybrids, they will not "grow true" (in
other words they won't be the same variety you started
with) and if they were an "open pollinated" variety, they'll
gradually change down the years until you have your own,
unique variety. The consequences of this will be good or bad,
depending on what you end up with. If you have the time and patience,
and keep selecting the very best of your tomatoes every year (based
on the criteria you want - perhaps flavour, yield, disease resistance
et al) you might, eventually, have the ultimate tomato for your
location. 

Hope that helps,  

-- 
Gary Cooper

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From: [email-masked] (james w. smith)
Date: 4 Apr 1995 00:55:23 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>many of us would be quite interested in this new 'recycling' method.  ;)
Well, it depends.
The reality of a tomato growing up wild in the garden can and is a grand 
adventure.  As hard as gardens are to maintain, (which is vastly 
different than how hard they are to start,) I find it a gas for 
unexpected bonuses to come up.  What fun.  

Now the down side.  Since we've been around, tomatoes have changed.  
Genetic engineering concerns aside, the plants I grow, and most of the 
plants on the open market are highly hybrid creations.  You and I have 
gotten used to a very disease resistant and pest resistant plant.  For 
some reason, the highly overbred plants that I prefer for their 
hardiness, resilience, and flavor don't breed true.  So, what happens 
when they are allowed come up on their own, outside the confines of the 
labratory, is vastly inferior.  

It's kind of like we got used to poodles, but when they bred, we ended up 
with just dogs. Which is cool if you're comfortable with dogs, but if you 
are expecting poodles, can be a disappointment.

If you'd like to tap into the kind of tomatoes that breed true, try some 
of the organic seed catalogues.  Seed Saver's Exchange also offers 
heritage seeds that you can plant and save the seeds for next season.  
Good luck with the tomatoes.  I'm shooting for the same effect in 
watermelons this year.  

Success!
James and Martine Smith

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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 4 Apr 1995 02:52:58 GMT

>compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates
Most modern tomatos are hybrids of one sort or another.  The
seedlings that you get are chance crosses that may, or may not,
resemble the parent plant.  You can go ahead and plant them
and see what you get; but do not stake too much on the results.
OTH, you might just discover the next great tomato variety.

Chris Owens

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From: [email-masked] (killand)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 20:45:18 GMT

>EE> compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates and
HI, there is a definite probability that your tomaos are F1 hybrids.
Hybridized plants are sterile and because they have seed, that is not 
to assume the seed is viable.

Consider a packet of seeds at the garden center

Derryl Killan
Hort. Tech.

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From: [email-masked] (stephen otrembiak)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 16:05:15 GMT

Of course the tomato plants will work but a better question is, is it
worth your time?  With most varieties being hybreds you have no idea
what type of fruit these saved plants will bear unitll they start
bearing it.  That will be after you put the time and effort into
growing the plants and it's too late to plant good (known variety)
plants.  From my experience most volunteer plants end up being cherry
tomatoes.  In my opinion I would toss these volunteer plants, my time
and effort is worth more than the price of a few known variety tomatoes.

helen ruth etters ([email-masked]) wrote:

: when I stir my compost, I sometimes notice tomato seedlings.  Are
: these just as good as the seedlings I'd buy?  Should I move them
: into the garden? ( I *do* bring the avacado sprouts in when I find
: them sprouting in the compost.)  And so this leads to the next
: logical step: if I can use the tomato seedlings I find in the
: compost, why buy tomato plants?  Why not just scape the plates
: and plant the leftovers?

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: \|/\|/\|/\|/\|/             Helen Etters                \|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/
: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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From: [email-masked] (Jen Mayer)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 05:35:00 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (Craig & Joan Mathew)
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 95 19:58:15 PST

[email-masked] says...

Hello,

Joan

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From: [email-masked] (Gary Cooper)
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 15:25:23 +0000

Hope that helps,  

-- 
Gary Cooper

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From: [email-masked] (james w. smith)
Date: 4 Apr 1995 00:55:23 GMT

Well, it depends.

Success!
James and Martine Smith

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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 4 Apr 1995 02:52:58 GMT

Chris Owens

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From: [email-masked] (killand)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 20:45:18 GMT

Derryl Killan
Hort. Tech.

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From: [email-masked] (stephen otrembiak)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 16:05:15 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (killand)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 20:45:18 GMT

Derryl Killan
Hort. Tech.

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From: [email-masked] (stephen otrembiak)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 16:05:15 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (D416B/Dave Daulton/X4410/D/B)
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 02:09:06 GMT

>into the garden? 

Most hybrids won't come true to seed--but tomatoes are an exception.
According to "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties" by Carol Deppe, most
tomatoes sold as hybrids are virtually open-pollinated, so save those
seedlings.  If they do revert, who cares?  I never met a tomato I
didn't like.

Dave Daulton, Columbus, Ohio

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From: Sonya Bellair <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 1995 16:41:01 EDT

When my garden didn't do to well last year, my husband just pulled out all of t
he plants in probably late August or so and I started taking my potato peelings
, green onion ends, and tomato scraps up to the garden hoping it may help in so
me way for this year.  You can imagine how surprised I was when I had baby toma
to plants and green onions growing in the spot where my once dying garden was.

Of course it was too late to expect any fruit from those plants, but it was nic
e to see *something* growing there!!!