Come springtime, there are hundreds of babies around here, and many of them are varieties of tomatoes.
My husband loves anything free, and within the confines of any tomato there are ... free seeds!
He dries them, labels them, and plants them the following spring. They do their bit within the warm earth and voila — we have endless tomato plants to share with family and friends.
So, when I came up with the idea that I wanted to try a “Mighty ‘Mato” plant, my husband was rather reluctant.
Why pay $12 for a tomato plant when we have hundreds of free ones within the greenhouse?
The Mighty ‘Mato is a grafted tomato which has had rave reviews.
It is one variety grafted on to the stalk of another, and I chose the variety Early Girl. I know it is a medium sized tomato, and a variety my husband is familiar with and I thought that might win him over.
So, I brought home my rather large beauty and he planted it — not within the confines of our covered tomato bed, but out in the open.
For several years we in the Lower Mainland have suffered from both early and late blight, so growing tomatoes has been recommended under cover.
But the Mighty ‘Mato is disease resistant. I crossed my fingers.
I am here to report that the planting of this rather large beast has been an undeniable success.
The bush is more like a small shrub and without any topical fertlizer (although they do recommend some) it is heavy laden with loads of red, ripe tomatoes.
The flavour is good and the skin is tight — when you bite into them they almost snap — and very juicy.
The advertisement suggests the yield will be anything from 3 to 4 times your regular yield, and I must agree.
We have staked it many times — I mean this is one huge plant — and the tomatoes just keep coming. I know this has been an ideal season for tomatoes — dry and hot — but this plant has definitely outperformed any plant we have ever had before.
If any of you grew Mighty ‘Mato, I would love to hear your experience.
Deb Brodie is a local gardener and a member of the Richmond Garden Club. She can be reached at [email protected].
