tomatoe plants not planted

[bettymeph@hotmail.com]

I have a large garden space and I rotate plant location each year. this year, I have had 6 plants pop up from old location last year. rumour has it these plants do not produce fruit. I have fertilized and caged them; obviously they are smaller than the ones I planted this year but healthy and growing! thoughts/experiences anyone? just wondering if these 'renegades' are a waste of space. they are probably Better Boy or Early Girls...

[gixxerific]

They are tomato plants right? And just where did you hear that they won't produce fruit? That is asinine to say the least unless you are about to have a frost they should produce.

It's just over a hundred here I doubt you are about to have a frost.

[CharlieBear]

Those are referred to as voluteer's. I deal with them every year and if I am short tomato plants I replant them where I am growing tomatoes (if they come up on time). Your tomatoes last year were hybrid tomatoes, so the seed is unlikely to produce true, that said you should have tomatoes, they just may not be uniform in size and shape and if the plants are too far behind you may have a lot of green ones. Often it is the smaller tomatoes like cherry tomatoes that fall to the ground and go unnoticed, sprouting up sometimes even 3 years later. I found some where I had tomatoes 3 years ago. Note, I don't till, I have wide beds in place.

[applestar]

Volunteers can do just fine. Mine usually pop up away from the good soil so don't grow very well.

[mmmfloorpie]

They are tomato plants right? And just where did you hear that they won't produce fruit? That is asinine to say the least unless you are about to have a frost they should produce.

It's just over a hundred here I doubt you are about to have a frost.

I've let volunteer tomato plants grow up and the fruit usually don't get much bigger than a golf ball and they don't taste very good either...