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Growing Tomatoes

Volunteer Tomatoes

15 years ago

I'm not a veggie eater, but my better half is and because she travels a lot; many a tomatoes hit the garden soil last year.

With all these ripe tomatoes hitting the ground, lots of seeds were left in the soil. And with this new year, I've got volunteer tomatoes coming up everywhere.

So what should I do?? Should I replant them and wish for the best or should I just till them back in?

I'm think I might want to grow a few to see what I get. My problem is that I have no idea what I might end up with because, last year, I had Rutgers, Celebrity, and a few other varieties planted. For all I know, I might get something true or some crazy hybrid that won't produce a single tomato.

What do you do when you get a volunteer plant?? Are the odds good that I will get a plant that produces good fruit or are tomatoes more like apple trees where the odds of getting something similar to the parent really slim?

Thanks..

Comments (6)

trudi_d
15 years ago
I doubt you'll get a crazy hybrid, you'll be getting tomatoes that look like their paret plants.

Volunteers do ao great. You can transplant them to better spots or thin them out and let them grow where they are. You can also give extra volunteer tomato seedlings to your family and neighbors.
doof
15 years ago
I've grown Celebrity volunteers before, and I couldn't tell any difference.

Rutgers isn't a hybrid, so it would be true to its parent.
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I transferred a couple of volunteers from my Sungold onslaught of last year just this past week. Tthey seem to be thriving. Bloomed some flowers as well since the transplant. You should definitely do it. Sungolds are hybrids so these will be a real mystery tomato. Enjoy..............elliot
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I know it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a final color of orange or gold, but KB would be orange and Yellow Brandywine would be gold, not orange. it really gets back to the question of leaf form as mulio asked b'c if gold and PL it could be Aunt Gertie's Gold, which is PL, and if PL and gold it could also be Yellow Brandywine except I think the fruits you show don't resemble YB as much as they do AGG, since the latter has more irregularly shaped fruits. And there's always the possibility that the volunteer was the result of natual cross pollination. Given the huge number of possibilities as I see it, gold or orange beefsteaks, PL or RL, I don't think there's any way that you can ID it, but you can at least save seeds and plant out a few plants next season to see if it's a cross or it comes true for whatever it might be. Carolyn, who isn't going to suggest checking to see who was growing what in the plot where you found it last year b'c it could also be a "bird" donation as well. LOL
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I love volunteer tomatoes :) True they normally germinate later than the store bought plants because they need to wait for the soil to warm. However, comma - if they are not transplanted the root structure excels so they need far less watering and can better withstand dry spells. IF you can allow them to grow where they sprout, I would do that. As recommended cut with scissors those you want to remove. The downside is they are always a surprise and you just don't know what the fruit will be until it is time to harvest (which also can be a bit later). Cherry tomatoes can reproduce like weeds. I have managed to go several years on just volunteers until the venison family found my tomatoes and ate all the fruit before it was even ripe so none ever hit the ground :( The finger smell test is the way to determine.
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I let a Sun Gold volunteer go last winter and it was good. Plum sized red fruits that were really pretty sweet and it was very productive - got a good one. We were getting a large mixing bowl of tomatoes every week or two throughout the winter. I'm actually starting a handful of seeds from that plant for fall planting right now, just for funsies.
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mike1970
15 years ago
I get tons of volunteer tomatoes in my compost since I toss all the seeds and skins in the compost bin after processing in the fall. I save a few and plant them just to see what I'll get. I feel that these plants have beaten the odds and should be rewarded. ;) I've never gotten anything weird.

Good luck!

Mike
wvtomatoman
15 years ago
It depends on you and what you want. If you don't care what it is as long as it is a tomato then grow the volunteers. If you want to know exactly which variety each plant is then till them under. Me? I only have a limited space so I want to know exactly which variety each plant is. Therefore, I treat volunteers like weeds.

Randy
solanaceae
15 years ago
Actually a few generations of volunteers will tend to breed varieties that like to grow in your environment. That is what is nice about heir looms. I have Roma volunteers from last year everywhere and I just transplanted one of them to a soon to be vacant radish plot.
I actually did have something go astray with a squash plant. I though it was one I had planted and it was not quite the spot I remember planting it in. I think it was a butternut and zucchini cross. It was a Dr Seuss crop for sure. It was very cucumber melon like.
triple_b
15 years ago
There and here
Here and there
Funny things
Are everywhere

Dr.Seuss

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