Mystery Early Girl...

[JohnJones]

So, two weeks ago I paid $5 each for two leggy, but healthy tomato plants at a local garden center. They are both doing fine and should give me some of my earliest tomatoes, but a mystery has developed.

One plant was tagged as CP and at this stage it is certainly looking like a typically vigorous growing CP plant with an early megabloom. The other was tagged Early Girl and is also vigorous and looks good, but all of the developing flower clusters are showing up on what are clearly leaves and not stems...

Mystery Early Girl - 4 2 2015 - 2.JPG

Photo is not great, but this is the largest cluster on the plant and it is on a large leaf with something growing out next to the cluster.

I rarely grow determinants and thought maybe this was some form of EG determinant or just another determinant variety tagged incorrectly. Is this typical of determinant growth? Thanks for looking.

[Gardeneer]

You picture is fine.
Flower cluster is in fact growing on the leaf branch. Also a new branch (sucker) is shooting off of the same leaf branch. I have never seen anything like that.
I have seen a flower cluster's end to turn into a branch, which is not rare.

[JohnJones]

Thanks for the reply. I certainly haven't seen it, but I suspect it's something that can be explained easily.

I checked again this morning and all the flower clusters developing on this plant are developing on leaves, not stems.

[Gardeneer]

Very interesting to know that it is not just one branch.
Probably it is a mutation where a branch and leaf branch are combined. .

[JohnJones]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Very interesting to know that it is not just one branch.
Probably it is a mutation where a branch and leaf branch are combined. .

I will post some more photos tomorrow, but this plant continues to produce clusters on leaves with no clusters appearing on a growing stem.

Very odd to me, but may be more common than I know.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by JohnJones

I will post some more photos tomorrow, but this plant continues to produce clusters on leaves with no clusters appearing on a growing stem.

Very odd to me, but may be more common than I know.

I don't think that it is common. I have never heard of such a thing before.
That is why, maybe, you are not getting many comments.

[JohnJones]

Mystery Girl is still growing prolifically and producing big ole, leaf residing clusters...

Mystery Early Girl - 4 11 2015.jpg

[PhilaGardener]

Definitely very interesting! You will have to save seeds to hold onto this interesting trait. You might bag a few blossoms to keep it selfed. Let us know what sort of fruit develops!

[JohnJones]

Sure, I plan to save quite a few. Probably won't go to the trouble of bagging blossoms, but have seen no bee activity in the garden yet, so I should get some pure seeds from the early toms.

[Worth1]

Early Girl is not a determinate it is an indeterminate.
If the label was marked determinate it is wrong and I have seen them marked wrong before.

Expect a huge plant.

Worth

[RJGlew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Early Girl is not a determinate it is an indeterminate.
If the label was marked determinate it is wrong and I have seen them marked wrong before.

Expect a huge plant.

Worth

Perhaps it is "Bush Early Girl" which is a determinate.

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/tom...2pd=sh&catId=&

[JohnJones]

Thanks Worth. I know EG is an indeterminate as I have grown it every year recently. This one is throwing me off though. Growing like crazy but all clusters are on leaves not stems so far.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Gardeneer]

I grew an Early Girl 3 years ago. It was indeterminant for sure. Bush types can/may also be indeterminant OR determinant.