Ya'll suppose....... before we tried to take over

that tomatoes grew naturally very well on their own?

I was just sitting out on the porch, breathing in the nice evening air, and was recalling my very first tomato garden.

I knew absolutely nothing. I didn't use stakes, I didn't use cages, and I grew them about 10 of them in a square. I knew nothing of "suckers" and pinching, and I didn't even fertilize! I remember many rotting, as they touched the ground, and gathering them up and putting them in my windows before they rotted, when I figured that out. But I also recall the size of them HUGE, and the abundance of them phenomenal. I canned many quarts of salsa that year (first for me then, also).

Granted, I lived in a little rental cottage at the time, that had been neglected before I moved in, and the earth pretty much untouched and ready for someone like me.

You know how Carolyn says to not pinch, etc?????

I can't help but wonder if we hinder the growth and production of our tomatoes by trying too hard to play God, and not let God's great earth do it's thing.

Just a thought. I still won't be able to stop from experimenting.

Karrie:

Before humans got involved, I'm sure tomatoes did grow well on their own, in their natural habitat. But the wild ones hardly resemble the tomatoes we grow today, and we certainly grow them in places that are far removed from the conditions of their natural habitat. So I think we are already too late to avoid "playing God". : )

But I think I know what you mean, Karrie. I remember the first tomatoes I grew, and my luck was similar to yours. This was about ten years ago, when I was living in an old house that had been converted into apartments. I used a couple of old milk cartons to start some seeds that I got out of a tomato from the grocery store. I ended up with two plants that I plunked in a hole in the yard, right next to the foundation, without amending the soil or anything. I got a number of huge tomatoes from those plants; I have a picture of them somewhere. I was amazed. I didn't know anything about growing stuff (still don't know too much ; ) ). But maybe that just proves that tomatoes have a high tolerance for inexperienced gardeners. ; )

Rhonda

One year we set out some plants in a plot about 7 miles from home, very early. We had covered them with gallon milk jug tops. One day we had a very strong wind, followed by an overnight frost. A few days later I went to that garden. Most of the jugs had blown off & the plants were froze. The ones under cover were fine. This was an old cowyard by a barn.
Went there to weed one day, weeds were so thick you couldn't see any plants. Down in the weeds were the nicest looking tomato plants you ever saw. Yes the ones that had froze off. Never staked them or pruned or anything that year.
They produced tons of tomatoes.
We have let our tomatoes sprawl for many years now. Works just as well as all the fuzzeness does.
Bernie

We found out that by not staking, sometimes they are better also. If you get too much rain, that's generally what will rot them babies.! We had a bad drought a few years ago after our tomatoes were up and coming and the weeds were taller than the tomatoes. Come the end of August, early September we were one of the few with beautiful tomatoes. i believe the weeds act as a buffer and a protector. So weeds are good sometimes. I remember telling our Organic Certifier one year that I was sorry for all the weeds in the fields, but we had been so busy....She said if we didn't have weeds, she would worry about our trueness of being organic. :) Something to think about. :b

Weeds don't bother me. I'm with Kathy. I'd rather have some weeds and grass as opposed to chemicals.

The extra greenery will give some shade for your tomatoes during the worst of the summer. That's whay MM's were so nice. They didn't get sunscald.

I have no problems with letting them sprawl...it's just easier for me to tie them up. I don't have to bend this sore back as far all summer. Also, I have a couple of terrapins who live in my garden and they seem to delight in taking a bite out of the prettiest fruits. I figure that they're searching for moisture as they leave most everything else alone...but by getting the tomatoes up off the ground, I can keep them from ruining my harvest.