A couple's backyard food project spiraled into an explosion of tomato plants after life got in the way of garden upkeep.
Instead of dealing with just a few unruly vines, they found themselves staring at roughly 620 fruit-loaded tomato plants and asking the internet a question every gardener has probably asked before: Can this still be saved?
What happened?
Seeking help in a post on Reddit, the original poster said they and their wife had "got very far behind on our gardening responsibilities." They were looking for a way to regain control of 16 rows of tomatoes, nearly all of them indeterminate.
By the couple's count, the garden had about 620 plants in all, with rows running roughly 50 feet and vines already reaching around 4 feet tall.
For all the overgrowth, the tomatoes themselves seemed to be in solid shape. The gardener said the plants were "loaded with fruit," they had not found any obvious disease, and hornworms were mostly a problem around the edges.
"I don't have the answers for you, but I'm impressed by the scale of your chaos here," one commenter wrote.
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The original poster replied, "It is truly chaos and I am naive enough to think it's still tamable."
Some people mentioned a lawn mower, while another joked, "Nuke it from orbit?" Others recommended pruning, tying up the main branches, and trellising next time.
"Try a large stake at the front and back of each row, and twine up each side. At least you'd be able to sort of waddle through picking the fruit," one user suggested.
Why does it matter?
A productive vegetable garden can quickly become overwhelming, especially when indeterminate tomatoes take off at the height of the growing season.
Growing food at home can help you save money on produce, especially with crops such as tomatoes that can produce heavily.
Homegrown produce can be tastier than store-bought options, especially when picked ripe.
There are health benefits as well. Gardening gets people moving, encourages time outdoors, and can support mental well-being by reducing stress and providing a tangible, satisfying routine.
Even a chaotic garden can signal something positive: a large amount of food with the potential to be harvested, shared, or preserved.
Other gardeners can provide advice with problems like weeds, pests, and neglected pruning, and threads like this one show gardeners they definitely aren't alone with these issues. Another Redditor wrote how they can relate: "We are dealing with this on a smaller scale on our homestead (we have about 100). We call it the tomato jungle."
What can I do?
People in the thread generally agreed the plants still looked worth saving, especially because they were producing fruit and did not appear diseased.
"I would plan on trellising next time," one commenter advised.
Another commenter echoed the couple's original instinct, backing a plan to prune and tie the plants back into some kind of order.
If you're starting your own garden or trying to avoid this kind of sprawl, The Cool Down's guide to growing your own food offers beginner-friendly ways to build a setup that matches your time and space.
Planning for supports early, checking plants often, and staying on top of pests can make a huge difference.
"I think you were on the money with just prune, tie. They look really good. I would def put in the time!" one commenter wrote.
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