New house, random plants popping up in garden

[nutmeg2356]

Hello!
We bought this home this year so this is my first garden I've planted here. We weeded these raised beds about a month ago, and I planted about 3 weeks ago. Just this week a lot of random lettuce looking things have sprouted up in one area of the bed. If they are truly lettuces, I'm not going to pull them. But if they're weeds they need to go. I also think I have tomato plants sprouting up in the area that I planted my green onions?

How does this happen? I didn't plant these here so it's a bit confusing. Especially the fact that I haven't planted any lettuces anywhere in my garden Some insight would be wonderful!

[jal_ut]

I am going to suggest: If you did not plant it, its a weed, pull it. Volunteer plants are usually cross bred and may or may not be good. Best to grow plants from a known seed source, then you get what you wanted.

[gumbo2176]

Your second to last picture is likely Kale as it looks just like the variety I grew this past fall. If your summers don't get too hot you may want to keep the Kale since it is so good in salads, stir fry, soups and used to make kale chips.

You definitely have several volunteer tomato plants in those pictures. The plants with tendrils could very well be cucumber, but there are a few plants that grow that way so it's kind of hard to tell for sure.

I suggest adding your location to either your posts or your on-line profile that accompanies your posts so we know what zone you are located in. This goes a long way in our ability to offer good advice.

[!potatoes!]

four of those pictures are of tomatoes. agreed, with gumbo, last two pics have kale in them. the 'lettuce type plants' before the kale are probably another brassica - collard/turnip/broader-leaved kale/etc. the cucurbit could be a cuke, or one of it's relatives.

how does it happen? just takes letting one or more things go to seed the year before (or seed that for whatever reason didn't germinate the year before. a couple dropped cherry tomatoes, you're almost there.

[applestar]

Yep looks like Red Russian Kale which I've been letting go to seed and they self seed everywhere. Very good eating. Young leaves are good for salads and older bigger leaves for kale chips and sneaking into smoothies for the kids to drink their veggies.

They particularly liked Banana, Kale, Kiwi combo. Recently, DD said, you added kale didn't you? The smoothie wasn't this green -- it was more like pale yellow -- when I saw it last, then I walked away and now it looks greener! But they loved it anyway. This one was banana, mango, and avocado + kale.


...and I was thinking Turnip for that other one.


I wouldn't keep the tomato volunteers if there is a high probability that they are from grocery store tomatoes. However, most of my tomato volunteers could be any number of specialized heirlooms and I would love to keep them all -- I just don't have the room. I always hesitate especially when they are potato leaf seedlings....

I posted about this year's exciting tomato volunteers I found among the radishes -- these could be one of a handful of somewhat rare variegated varieties I've been growing in the last couple of years:


Cucurbits take up so much space that I hardly ever let the volunteers grow, but I've ended up with some very nice pumpkin and squash. Again, mostly because that's what I've been growing. But if the seeds had come from Halloween jack-o-lantern carving, the field pumpkins could have crossed with fall decoration gourds, etc. But again, I generally let a few grow every year if I have the space, just to see what they might be.

[nutmeg2356]

The past owners were avid organic gardeners- I doubt that they were from grocery store tomatoes. The neighbors have told me they ate all their veggies strictly from the garden. All the soil in these beds is organic, as well as the compost pile we have on the side of the house.

[applestar]

Fantastic! And lucky you!

Then all you have to do is make sure they have at least 18-20 inches MINIMUM between the plants. 24 inches is better. You can either cull or transplant the extras.

Make sure to decide on a good support system -- check out the sticky thread in the Tomato Growing Forum, and get that build as soon as you can. Earlier is better so you won't be ripping through grown roots and shocking plants and developing fruits. ( I need to get started on mine in fact )