Anacoco man grows enormous cherry tomato plant

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - A man in Anacoco has grown an incredible cherry tomato plant that is probably the tallest you have ever seen.

John Brittain, a gardening enthusiast, has grown an extraordinary 9′3″ cherry tomato plant, and it is still getting bigger. As the plant continues to grow and produce delicious, red, cherry tomatoes, Brittain generously shared some of the techniques behind his gardening triumph.

Brittain said he got the plant in the ground early in the spring, just after the last frost, then he uses an antacid to give the plant extra nutrients.

“I dig the hole, fill it full of water and transplant the tomato in there,” said Brittain. “About two weeks later, I’ll put a Rollaid or a Tums in there and let it dissolve naturally on top of the ground and it goes into the roots. It’s got a lot of calcium in there that the tomato needs.”

The plant is so tall that Brittain had to connect an extra stake to ensure the plant keeps growing vertically.

“I got a T-post that you build a fence with, and it outgrew that so I got a regular tomato stick and fastened it to the top of it so it’s probably about 13 feet high now to keep it growing straight up,” said Brittain.

Brittain admittedly does not know exactly why the tomato plant is growing so large, and he also said he does not particularly care for cherry tomatoes, but his granddaughter loves them.

“I have four different varieties of tomatoes, but this is the only cherry tomato plant,” said Brittain. “I planted this one for my granddaughter, and she loves cherry tomatoes. I planted it especially for her, and she will come by and eat them as quickly as they get ripe.”

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