Ha ha ha. After I posted this, I did some hard thinking and now I remember I DID put tomatoes in the pile. A boatload of green ones when the frost finally came. (I don't like green tomatoes) And it would have been the exact same time I was putting in those pumpkins from my uncle's fall display....they were too hard to chop up so I left them out until they froze overnight, then thawed, and then they were mush. The pumpkins heated the pile, but obviously not enough. LOL. I've got pumpkin plants (or maybe gourds, I dunno) sprouting in lots of places too. ROFL. In the areas where I've got other curcurbits, I'll just have to let them grow until fruit sets because I can't tell them apart from the melons, cukes and squash. On the tomatoes, I'll pull most of them up, but I'm going to leave a couple just to see what I get. I didn't grow any cherries or grapes...some Better Boys, Early Girls, Caspian Pink and something else I've forgotten. Gonna be fun to see what I end up with. All the plants are ROBUST and healthy as heck. Of course they're growing in a layer of compost! When they first erupted, I thought they were marigolds because I've planted those everywhere. It's taken me a few weeks to accept that I've got tomatoes everywhere. LOL. I got my pile up to 175 in late winter, but obviously only the top half. The pumpkins and tomatoes were in the bottom. I've decided to buy one of those winged compost aerator things so I can mix it up better. I was just kind of fluffing. It's all education....each year I learn more and more. :)

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.

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

Tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants are members of the Nightshade family; a family of plants that contains many well known poisonous members. These plants have varying levels of alkaloids that have steroidal properties. Though the fruit is now known to be safe, poisoning can occur from the ingestion of the leaves, vines, or unripe fruit. There have been reports of livestock being poisoned by crossing fences to forage through a tomato patch and even by farmers adding the suckers culled from their tomato vines to the livestock feed. Nightshade poisoning can be difficult to detect because the symptoms can be mistaken for a variety of ailments. Those symptoms are: lethargy, vomiting, difficult breathing, prostration, and constipation or diarrhea. Since these symptoms do not easily point to alkaloid poisoning it is best to take preventative measures to ensure the safety of your herd. From Plants Poisonous to Livestock U of Minn. Extension No more green tomatoes for the cows. ;) Dave