|
Post by lilith on Aug 29, 2017 15:36:33 GMT
We all have experienced that crazy thing that randomly pops,up in the flower beds. Much to my delight it wasn't a weed this time. I knew this was a tomato plant from it's first true leaves, so I have let it grow,and made sure it has had good water. Now, mind you, this is in a flower bed that has not been planted in seven to ten years, and the plant was 100% volunteer. I have never known tomatos to be planted there in 30 years. Pretty sure the plant is determinate. It got about two ft tall, bloomed, and has started setting a bunch of fruit all at once. The late season on it is not surprising as it didn't sprout till early summer. I found it while harvesting radishes. My other tomatoes have to be started indoors to get fruit because of late frosts. The fruit is interesting. It is about 2" long and is shaped like a peanut. They may get larger as nothing has shown any hint of being ripe. The green leaves at the edge of the stem are interesting as well. There are exactly four on every fruit.
I am trying to get pictures to upload and will link them as soon as they are online.
|
|
|
Post by here to stay on Aug 29, 2017 15:42:01 GMT
I've seen lots if pear shaped tomatoes but never a peanut shaped one. Can't wait to see your pictures.
|
|
|
Post by lilith on Aug 29, 2017 18:53:26 GMT
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 29, 2017 20:38:12 GMT
I don't know. The leaves don't look that tomato-ish. The petals of green, surrounding the tomato, they seem kind of long in proportion to the tomato. It doesn't look like a tomatilla, or a ground cherry, or a pepper. I'm confounded!
|
|
|
Post by Use Less on Aug 30, 2017 0:09:10 GMT
Volunteer plants will do funny things regarding leaf shape, stem length and shape of fruit. I'd guess that a bird ate from a tomato that was a cross already, and that's how you got this, and how it got the way it is. I have had some volunteers with fruits something like that since I try to grow Juliet's every year, and some of them end up on the ground. I also grow some short of large cherry and some slicers. So. I haven't tried to post photos here, but I'll read up on that. I have three wildly-assorted volunteers that I left grow. I have what appear to be extremely large zucchini plants, too, that just came up. The fruits are a large, bright orange, bumpy sort of gourd.
|
|
|
Post by here to stay on Aug 30, 2017 1:24:03 GMT
Waiting for him too.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 30, 2017 1:51:52 GMT
Can't help at the moment but does not sound like a tomato. (I am crawling at 14.4 Kbps tonight so photos won't load.) Would help to know what's inside the fruit. All tomato seeds look about the same. If the seeds don't look like tomato, it's definitely something else. And if it's what feather describes, it's something else.
Martin
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 30, 2017 2:02:08 GMT
Can't help at the moment but does not sound like a tomato. (I am crawling at 14.4 Kbps tonight so photos won't load.) Would help to know what's inside the fruit. All tomato seeds look about the same. If the seeds don't look like tomato, it's definitely something else. And if it's what feather describes, it's something else. Martin It certainly MIGHT be a tomato, it just looks off to me. Wait to get the pictures if you can, that would help.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 30, 2017 2:30:10 GMT
Green petals surrounding the fruit is not tomato. That would indicate that the fruit was formed inside a pod similar to a lantern. If someone can post the picture direct on here, it will eventually load.
Martin
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 30, 2017 2:32:37 GMT
This is probably the best picture.
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 30, 2017 2:33:17 GMT
The hairy stems are like a tomato of some type.
|
|
|
Post by Use Less on Aug 30, 2017 2:53:02 GMT
That's a tomato. Honest.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 30, 2017 3:57:17 GMT
Leaves and rest of the foliage says it could be lycopersicum family but the fruit does not make sense. Those green "petals" surrounding the fruit are where things are not right. They would be the sepals which are the outer part of the blossom and there should be 5. Could be more from a double blossom but never less.
Martin
|
|
|
Post by here to stay on Aug 30, 2017 12:31:24 GMT
I wonder if that one fruit just has sepals that failed to divide so looks odd. The othe flowers seem to show bigger than normal sepals but ones that have divided.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 30, 2017 16:26:30 GMT
There is one member of that family which would have fruit like that and long sepals, eggplant. Seeing what's inside would better tell what it is.
Martin
|
|
|
Post by here to stay on Aug 30, 2017 16:30:23 GMT
Are there any egglant varieties with yellow flowers? The first set of pictures showed yellow flowers.
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 30, 2017 16:48:09 GMT
Can tomatoes cross with anything in its family? Aren't potatoes and eggplant in its family?
|
|
|
Post by lilith on Aug 30, 2017 20:21:28 GMT
I have added pictures to the same album showing the insides of the fruit... Even more puzzeling to me now. If someone can link them like you did before, that would be great. My phone doesn't let me use thoes tools. The long green pedals sepils I think you called them... After double checking, there are several fruits with up to six, they are in fact just stick together.
These things defiantly smell like tomatoes!
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 30, 2017 20:25:43 GMT
lilith, sure. Here is the inside of the plant.
|
|
|
Post by lilith on Aug 30, 2017 20:38:27 GMT
I also added more images of the fruit and the long green flower parts I can't spell, as well as a better picture of the leaf shape. Such mystery and intrigue! Thanks for your input everyone!
|
|
|
Post by merks on Aug 31, 2017 1:06:32 GMT
Watching to see what you have. We had a volunteer plant one year that I think was a cross between a cantaloupe and a cucumber.
|
|
|
Post by Use Less on Aug 31, 2017 1:32:12 GMT
If there are more fruits, let them ripen Might turn out that scent or taste provide the confirming information.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 31, 2017 2:50:02 GMT
The photo of the fruit interior looks just like other torpedo-shaped types. That is, two long thin seed locules. Problem with identifying something like that is the genes. Nobody can agree on the number of wild species are involved. I've seen 9 and I've seen 12 while more possibly exist. Although they are separate species, each has 24 chromosomes. That means that each can be crossed with the others. Just two of them would result in 24 to the 24th power for combination. That's just two species without including the many factors that exist in certain genes and obvious here. In short, I now see a tomato and want a dozen seeds!
Martin
|
|
|
Post by feather on Aug 31, 2017 3:12:52 GMT
The photo of the fruit interior looks just like other torpedo-shaped types. That is, two long thin seed locules. Problem with identifying something like that is the genes. Nobody can agree on the number of wild species are involved. I've seen 9 and I've seen 12 while more possibly exist. Although they are separate species, each has 24 chromosomes. That means that each can be crossed with the others. Just two of them would result in 24 to the 24th power for combination. That's just two species without including the many factors that exist in certain genes and obvious here. In short, I now see a tomato and want a dozen seeds! Martin The name of the tomato will be: (drum roll please)....... And how to save seeds for people that haven't saved seeds for tomatoes.
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 31, 2017 4:24:37 GMT
Does it have to get this complicated? Old way to save seed that worked for centuries: smear seeds on piece of paper and let them dry. If stored properly, should last 10 years. If frozen, 10 centuries.
Martin
|
|
|
Post by Use Less on Aug 31, 2017 10:31:29 GMT
Does it have to get this complicated? Old way to save seed that worked for centuries: smear seeds on piece of paper and let them dry. If stored properly, should last 10 years. If frozen, 10 centuries. Martin I'm with you in being a little fascinated by Mother Nature's diversity. Planting a few seeds from that strange little tomato could yield who-knows-what in a tomato. I save seeds, sometimes, but don't always remember to plant them I usually leave a few of the volunteers that come up in my garden, just for fun. There are those who say not to, though I don't quite get that. I have a huge beautiful vining thing that looks like a giant zucchini plant, but has stretched out like a pumpkin vine, and has largish bright orange bumpy gourd-like fruits
|
|
|
Post by woolybear on Aug 31, 2017 13:45:06 GMT
Does it have to get this complicated? Old way to save seed that worked for centuries: smear seeds on piece of paper and let them dry. If stored properly, should last 10 years. If frozen, 10 centuries. Martin ^ My preferred way of saving seeds. Just write the name of tomato on the paper towel, let dry then pick off. Had a torpedo type tomato come up one year in the manure pile. At that time we weren't raising any little tomatoes. The seed must have been dropped by a bird. I let it grow and had tomatoes late into the fall. Didn't think at that time to save any seeds from it.
|
|
|
Post by lilith on Aug 31, 2017 14:03:13 GMT
Luckily, I am an avid seed saver. So, I'm not worried about saving tomato seed, tomato are super easy! Not like my watermelons that don't do worth beans if I don't ferment the fruit before I rinse and dry them. My fiance even brought home a pattypan squash from work thinking I would want to save the seeds from it because it was such a funny looking thing to him ... City boys lol! Paquebot, if you would like seeds, I'm happy to oblige!! Just message me a p.o. box or somewhere I can drop them into the mail for you. I will send them off when we get some ripe fruit ready to go. I wouldn't mind having some of your Roma seeds either, I hear they are all the rage and have wanted some for years. Maybe in a few years, you can offer everyone SandHollow mystery tomatoes too, lol how does that sound for a name?
|
|
|
Post by woolybear on Aug 31, 2017 14:24:35 GMT
lilith, Well at least you're better at naming tomatoes then I am. I have the "old man" tomato named for DH's father (all the kids call him Old Man). Then there is the "meaty with few seeds" - no idea what name it had before because DH plants the tomatoes and then loses the name tags. So each year I save seeds from the tomatoes that I'm most impressed with (plus the ones that I can remember the name of, LOL)
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Aug 31, 2017 17:07:03 GMT
It is NOT any San Marzano and NOT Dix Doights de Naples. I've grown the later and many of the former. What is throwing some off is that those pictured are probably ripe. Tomatoes come in many colors including what we see here. The seeds look to be mature size so the color of the fruit isn't going to change.
Martin
|
|