11,000 Pounds of Tomatoes, or 11,000 Tomatoes?
By Vanessa Richins
The United Press International recently ran a story about a couple in Southern California who are very avid tomato growers.
They reported that Bill Anderson and his wife, Christine Griego had grown over 11,000 pounds of tomatoes in the past year, and was aiming to grow 15,000 pounds this year.
They were able to do all of this on a plot of land that is smaller than a quarter acre. The yard is almost exclusively tomato plants, with a few rose bushes and some trees thrown in.
Bill keeps very exacting records of every tomato that he harvests, tracking how many he picks daily and which varieties they are.
I was able to find his blog, which explains that UPI made a bit of a mistake. You see, he grew 11,000 tomatoes, not 11,000 pounds of tomatoes.
The correction made me laugh a bit. Whether it’s 11,000 pounds or 11,000 tomatoes, this is still amazing to me. In an article in the LA Times, it says that last year he had 34 tomato plants. That is an average of 323 tomatoes per plant.
This year, they are growing 52 plants, which they figure should put them up around the 15,000 mark. Simply amazing.
Lest you think Mr Anderson thinks of nothing tomatoes, the LA Times says “Anderson, 46, doesn’t want people to think tomatoes are the center of his life. He has a job (software development); he has friends. He and Griego have been married for a year. Be that as it may, he is extraordinarily devoted to his tomatoes.”‘
I am still just amazed at the sheer number of tomatoes he has been able to grow. What is your record?
