Tomato 'tree' grows in Benton Ridge

BENTON RIDGE — Ernest McLeod has a green thumb when it comes to growing cherry tomatoes. The Benton Ridge man has a plant that has soared to a height of 9 feet, 4-inches this year. And even though the calendar says autumn is nearly here, the towering Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme plant is still producing plenty of the sweet red fruit. "This thing just has not stopped," said Ernest. "This one this year here just went crazy." He said his other tomato plants — an heirloom, purple turkey and beefsteak — are pretty much done for the season even though they all went into the ground at the same time. "I just wondered if anybody else in Hancock County had such a good year with them," he said. Ernest's wife, Elizabeth, appreciates his efforts. "He does them all. I just eat it," she said. The couple are originally from Texas but have lived on Main Street in Benton Ridge for 20 years. Their small backyard offers just enough space for a covered patio and a makeshift garden of plants including jalapeno, habanero and ghost peppers, onions and tomatoes. A patch of asparagus grew in the spring. "It's just whatever we feel like putting out," Ernest said. They only have one cherry tomato plant. Ernest said that one plant usually provides more than enough tomatoes for the two of them. "But we've been feeding the neighborhood and friends and everybody," he said. He said there was nothing special about the plant. He paid $3 for it at Walmart, brought it home and stuck it in the ground. Now Ernest is stumped as to how this super sweet 100 hybrid cherry tomato plant got so tall. "They should have put tomato tree on the tag," he said. "I think we got our 100 out of there." After planting the seedling, Ernest watered it enough to get it started. "And then once they get established, we just let them go," he said, adding that no fertilizer has been used on it. "Just dirt in the ground." The plant has gotten so tall, they have had to stack three 4-foot tall metal tomato cages together to keep it from toppling over. "It kept growing up, up, up, up," he said. "I said nobody will believe this." He calls all of his tomato plants "Baby." Mixing the peppers and tomatoes together produces some "mean salsa," Ernest said. The couple also like fried green tomatoes and adding slices of tomato to a sandwich. Gardening is Ernest's hobby. He said it used to give him something to do when he got off work installing flooring. Elizabeth worked at Consolidated Biscuit. They're are now both retired and spend most of the summer outside enjoying the backyard. According to the Gardening Know How website, sweet 100 cherry tomato plants may grow to be 4-8 feet tall. The tallest tomato plant on record was grown hydroponically by a company in the United Kingdom reached a height of 65 feet in 2000. Regardless of how tall this Baby grows, the couple is enjoying the harvest. Elizabeth comes out early each morning to pick the tomatoes that have ripened overnight. She also talks to the plant. "I tell her thank you for everything she's done for us," she smiled. "You've got to talk to them. That helps them grow," added Ernest. He thinks they will continue to get cherry tomatoes until the end of October. He plans to save some of the seeds and dry them for use next year. "I'm from Texas, down in east Texas, so we raise stuff but not like that one," he said.