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Surprise tomatoe seedlings
Womble54
Posts: 348
in Fruit & veg
Has anyone ever had tomatoe seedlings sprouting in beds without you planting them?
I grew tomatoes in a raised bed 2 or 3 years ago. I've grown a few things in there since and have sunflowers in there this year. I've noticed lots of seedlings popping up. Initially thought they were weeds but they look and smell just like tomatoe plants.
I'll keeping them going if they'll grow in the shade of the sunflowers & see if they produce any tomatoes.
I've never heard of tomatoes doing that before. Just curious if this is a common thing or if others had seen it before. Thanks
Last edited: 30 May 2017 13:35:35
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Last summer my veg patch sprouted tomato plants all over the place ... presumably from the tomato seeds in the contents of the kitchen bin which went into the compost heap.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
very common as tomatoes seeds can survive the composting process and can also survive buried in the soil overwinter (if its been mild) i'm weeding them out of my veg beds at the moment as I've just emptied my compost bin onto them.
Thanks. I don't think I've used any compost from my bin on that bed. Must've been from dropped tomatoes. I'm surprised they've come up after a few years. I'll see if they make good companions for the sunflowers.
if birds have eaten tomato seeds from the compost heap etc they do not 'digest' so if the inevitable happens on your garden then there is a good chance they will sprout.
Tomato waste is about the only thing I don't put in the compost, drives me mad picking them out of the borders. Your home made compost doesn't get hot enough to kill them. Oh, and potato peelings.?