Do You Tolerate Laggards?

[karstopography]

I don’t, not anymore. I removed from the raised beds 4 tomato plants today that were sickly and behind their peers. If the plants look robust, but otherwise haven’t really bloomed much, I might have let them be.But, these really hadn’t bloomed and looked weak. I had to remove some lower leaves due to a mustery malady. Three of the plants were from the feedstore and just never caught fire, never thrived. One was one of mine from seed, the only one I had that the identity tag went missing. It never was very strong anyway so no big loss.

Anyway, I put in two black beauty eggplant, a Jalapeño pepper and a Tabasco pepper in the empty spots. They had a little sale on sets, so no big loss. I wanted some eggplant and hadn’t planted any so that worked out. Another jalapeño pepper is a good thing around here, more to slice and pickle. Tabasco peppers are handy for spicing sauces up.

I’ve got my eye on a few more of the tomatoes, they had better shape up quick! I want to plant some okra and soon.

[Spike]

They have to be seriously circling the drain for me to pull plants. Silly yes but as long as I have room, I cheer them on!

[bower]

I can be pretty ruthless when I'm well into the season and ready for it to be less work.
Very clingy about seedlings for some reason, often have too many and unless someone takes em... well they hang around. I have the occasional one manages to get roots out of whatever pot or cup and down into deeper soil. I especially like those.

[slugworth]

pre-covid I started some seeds for 2 different varieties new to me that under performed and tasted bland.
I ripped up the plants and replaced them with old reliables.

[Tormahto]

I've never pulled a plant.

[ddsack]

Too short a season here to remove plants once they are in the ground. I'd have to replace them with a similar age plant to get ripe tomatoes before colder fall weather. Only you folks in warmer climates have the luxury to do that.

I do keep a few extra seedlings around for longer than I should, in case something drastic happens to the plant in the first couple of weeks after planting out.

[karstopography]

There’s other things I wish to grow. Okra, more peppers, eggplant. Space is limited. The tomatoes that are apparently thriving look to be more than sufficient to supply my needs. The weaker plants were in one block so it makes it easier to plug in something that might do better.

It’s like spring training in baseball, a lot of players get to go, but not everyone gets to stay for the regular season.

[brownrexx]

I guess that I am a plant killer. I thin my seedlings to one to a pot and discard the ones I remove and if I have a sickly looking plant in the garden it gets pulled and removed so that potential disease does not spread to others.

I only grow about 15 tomato plants and I grow duplicates of ones I really want, just in case I lose one.

About 8 years ago my tomato plants got infected with Late Blight and I didn't realize that it was incurable so I tried trimming leaves and taking care of the plants. Soon all of my plants became infected and I lost my whole crop. Maybe this would have happened anyway since the spores travel on the wind but I am not taking any chances again.

[worth1]

Not at work if I'm in charge of them.
If not in charge they can do as they please, not my concern.
I've got a pepper laggard that needs attention but at a loss as what to do.
Giving it another week to straighten up and fly right.
If not its getting sent to the laggard section for probation and rehab.

[Rockoe10]

I'm ruthless with seedlings, but once they are in the ground I baby them till the season is over. I'll save seeds from one the best performing plants however.