Last Tomato Standing

Grafted Box Car Willie

By this time it should come as no surprise that the last tomato plant standing is the Box Car Willie plant that was grafted onto disease-resistant root stock.

That plant has shown signs of stress in the form of yellowing leaves, but managed to fight off the powdery mildew and bacterial wilt that claimed all of the other tomato plants this season.

Other San Diego gardeners have reported that this was a terrible year for tomatoes all the way around; we enjoyed a mild winter, but apparently it never got cold enough to kill off all the bacteria and bugs that love our veggies as much as we do.

We are pleased that this plant was so successful, since it shows that it is possible to combat these diseases.  Cindy is hoping to have several other Master Gardeners graft their tomatoes next year so that we can develop more information about what works and what doesn't work so well.