Alien Tomato

My mom as been keeping a pet tomato. The eversprouting fruit looks like an alien life form. She took the plant into Art Knapp, her local garden store where Scott Austin, resident garden columnist, did a bit of research. Turns out that this strange sprouting phenomenon is not that uncommon. It’s called “vivipary” and, according to Scott, “it’s a function of the hormone that controls seed dormancy becoming weaker under certain conditions.” I can’t help but wonder if the hormone might be overactivated by the application of certain fertilizers and pesticides. Thoughts?