Wiseman – I counted over 72 tomatoes on one plant

Three months ago, Clive “Culture” Wiseman planted some tomato seeds around his yard, but never in his wildest dreams did he envisage having 72 tomatoes on one plant.{{more}}

“I think this is just a blessing from God. I never see anything like that before,” Wiseman said as he inspected his plant.

When SEARCHLIGHT journeyed to Wiseman’s home in Lowmans Leeward over the weekend, his little kitchen garden was littered with tomato plants, but only one stuck out like a sore thumb.

With SEARCHLIGHT supervising, Wiseman counted over 72 tomatoes, stating that he had already picked five earlier.

“People who are farmers came here and tell me they never see anything like that at all. I use to just burn some stuff in the yard and is the burnt dirt from there I use to plant my tomatoes,” Wiseman explained.

He said he has also been accused of using chemicals on the plant, something Wiseman wholly refutes. “I never use any kind of chemical or any thing of that sort. I just use the dirt and water them everyday,” Wiseman said.

Stating that when he first noticed how many tomatoes were on the one plant, he split some of the branches, which spread outwards instead of upwards.

He also added that he strongly believes it was the fertiliser from the burnt dirt that assisted in helping the plant bear so many fruits.

The CD vendor says he plans to sell some of his produce and give some away.

Meanwhile, Senior Agriculture Officer Feithroy Edwards said that while that particular plant has a lot of tomatoes, it is not something unusual.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT yesterday, Edwards said it depends on the variety of tomato used. He said the smaller tomato fruit plant could bear in excess of Wiseman’s amount.

“If you take like Cherry Tomato for example, they give you a lot of tomatoes…,” he said.

Edwards said he hasn’t personally seen the plant, but stated that he recently had a Money Maker tomato that he counted 81 fruits on. He said a Heat Master, on the other hand, which is one of the more popular hybrid varieties grown in SVG, will produce some fairly big tomatoes.

“It is not uncommon for you to get 40-odd fruits on a plant. It may be unusual for the farmer and for the area as well, but I don’t know if it’s something phenomenal,” Edwards explained.