As mentioned on my Facebook page a few days ago, high winds knocked over my tomato plants. Quite a few branches broken, but non of the main stems.
I stood them up again and did a quick tidy the day after, which yielded me a small bag of green tomatoes from the broken stems.
I have just spent 40 minutes, examining the plants more carefully, and finding a few more breaks. These branches have all been trimmed from the plants, and while diminished, the plants are still healthy and covered in fruit.
Some of the fruit from the broken branches are going in the bag with the others. Some are so small, I am leaving them on the branches, and
I am going to put them in water to see if I can develop new roots. A couple of the other branches are useless, but have suckers that I may be able to turn into new plants.
I know it is late in the year to bring on new plants, but if they make it, they can come into the house over the winter and give an early start to next year.
I’m not without hope on this. This is a plant that was brought on from a broken branch from a few weeks back.
I know the stands are a bit rickety, and the reason for the tumble. Originally, I had the tomatoes on one of my dilapidated garden benches, until it became clear that they were restorable. However, I wanted to keep the tomatoes raised because of Katie the Beagle, who gets her nose in everywhere.
Next year, a more stable base, better supports and tied back to the fence.