Ocean passage making is hard on land based plants, but this hardy tomato plant seems to have made the journey!
Thomas, our tomato plant, was first sprouted in Florida, and has since made the long journey across the Atlantic and over to the Azores.
He started off life with lush green leaves that begged for sun, but with sun exposure also came salt spray. As Thomas grew, so did the concentration of salt crystals in his dirt, until the level in his pot became too harsh for him to thrive.
Leaves started turning brown and his branches became blunted, but Thomas kept trying to fruit. Eventually, little flowers formed and it seems that all his energy went into sustaining them. The remaining leaves withered away as the green tomatoes began to turn red.
Thomas is currently a dried up stick which produced a handful of tomatoes in his lifetime. We plan to make some changes for Thomas II, such as a blocked out container, and to get the plant thriving before we head out to sea.
