Tomatoes. A rant. Longish.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Hey - interesting post from someone who sells plants in 3 inch pots for three dollars....

Labor, effort, materials, and knowledge. I agree with you that paying over 3.00 for a single tomato plant from a box store is hard to swallow (and something I would never do).....there are simply too many ways that issues can arise (seed source, accuracy of variety, potential diseases in the seed or soil, or poor treatment by the box store). Yet....they clearly are successful at it, because they are at all the box stores.

I've been starting from seed for decades and am a history accuracy stickler - and am also aware, after purchasing the pots, labels, soilless mix and spending countless hours transplanting - that for a small producer that can be trusted, 3.00 is a good price for a plant - especially when it will produce 15-20 pounds or more of tomatoes. Think about the math. Think about the price of a perennial - 5 - 10 dollars - for something that will bloom for a week or two - and compare it to a veggie plant - pepper, tomato, eggplant - that will feed you for months.

So there are many sides to this most interesting topic! And if anyone thinks that there is not dirt in gardening (so to speak - even beyond controversy - there is envy, jealousy, lying, misrepresentation, gouging, soap opera battles, etc) - you are fooling yourself!