In November 2000, Eileen Grange bought a small tomato plant from a nursery and planted it in a pot. Recently, Eileen contacted us to tell us that her tomato plant has grown right up under the eaves of the house. It is now about 2.5m tall and 3m wide, and still going strong. Eileen thought that the plant would die off at the end of last summer, but she says it's like Jack and the Beanstalk: it just keeps growing and growing and the stems are getting longer and taller and wider. It even survived the Melbourne winter.

Don was amazed at the size of Eileen's tomato vine. It was a grafted tomato. The top of the plant probably died and the understock sent out vigorous shoots from under the graft. It is a robust cherry tomato which will produce lots of fruit, but the fruit may not have much flavour.

Is your tomato bigger?

If you have a tomato plant that is bigger than Eileen's, we'd love to hear from you. Send your letter and a photograph to:

'Mine's Bigger Than Yours'
Burke's Backyard
PO Box 929
Willoughby NSW 2068

Don't forget to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you'd like your photographs returned.

Copyright CTC Productions 2002