The guy at the Toledo Arboretum nursery who told me my tomatoes were 'too clean'

Robin Palmer · 2026-10-17T07:10:03.807484+00:00

Ran into a volunteer named Gene at the Toledo Arboretum plant sale last spring, and he took one look at my tomato seedlings and said, 'These look too clean, you've never let them suffer.' I kind of laughed it off, but he went on about how my 40 plants all looked identical, same leaf color, same height, like they'd never faced a hard day in the cold frame. Your mileage may vary, but I started leaving the cold frame open a few hours longer each week and the plants that toughed it out set fruit about two weeks earlier than the pampered ones. Curious if anyone else has had an old grower tell them to stop babying their starts.

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The guy at the Toledo Arboretum nursery who told me my tomatoes were 'too clean' | Botany Lovers - Thought Shares