A viral TikTok video shows viewers an extremely simple hack to grow a "monstrous tomato."
The channel selfsufficientfamilies (@selfsufficientfamilies) hosted the short video, which has so far gotten more than 553,000 likes.
"Lay them down. Pinch off," the TikToker says in the video.
@selfsufficientfamilies Tomato planting Tip- Lay them down!! #tomatoes #howto #diy #growingtomatoes #tomato #plants #growit #homegrown #homestead #garden #gardentips #gardentip ♬ original sound - Selfsufficientfamilies
He explains how when you're planting your tomatoes, you should first lay down the tomato plant in the soil and then "pinch off" all the leaves around the stem and the base, leaving the ones on the top intact.
You should then cover the stem and base with the soil, leaving only the top sticking out.
The narrator concludes by saying: "It'll root all the way down here and you'll have a monstrous tomato."
There are plenty of benefits to growing your own tomatoes.
For one, it can be much more affordable in the long term. Store-bought foods are susceptible to inflation and other shocks to the economy.
Also, growing your own can save you numerous trips to the supermarket or wherever you normally purchase your fruits and veggies.
But there's another benefit that transcends our wallets and even our local surroundings. As you may already know, by growing our own foods, we avoid purchasing canned or plastic-wrapped items.
The production of plastics and metals (for cans) requires energy, which releases toxic planet-warming gases into the air we breathe. Also, these foods need to be transported to stores and supermarkets, either by truck, airplane, boat, or all of the above when they are coming from far away.
This also burns fuel, which releases the harmful gases mentioned.
The plastics used to wrap your fruits and veggies are then discarded and often end up in the environment. In the United States alone, around 40 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and only about 5% gets recycled.
Most discarded plastic ends up in landfills, and each year, several millions of tons of plastic waste enter our oceans, which is extremely harmful to marine wildlife.
Canned foods are also pollutants, and studies have shown that these containers can have a range of chemical contaminants, including metals, which can leach onto the food we end up eating.
TikTokers had plenty to say about the tomato-growing hack.
One person commented, "Why did I never think of this?"
"Wouldn't that encourage the plant to be lazy though? And then make lazy fruits?" another joked.
Some people seemed skeptical.
"I need proof," one said, while another added, "I would be interested in seeing an after shot."
Regardless of whether or not this method is as effective as the narrator claims, a home garden can be a great source of food for numerous reasons.
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