I would like to grow some tomatoes this year. I have some empty bed space that gets full sun in the front yard, but when I mentioned that I was thinking of putting them there to two people, they both reacted by saying that growing tomatoes in the front yard is tacky.
So, what’s the deal? Is it tacky?
Does it make a difference that my front yard is elevated about 8 feet from the sidewalk? There is a steep slope between the sidewalk and the flat part of the yard. The empty bed space is in the border at the top of the slope. You can’t see the bed from the street, but you would be able to see tomatoes staked up.
(I don’t necessarily mind being tacky, but I’d like to know about it if I am.)
I like to think tacky is in the eye of the beholder. Personally I like seeing nice, healthy, tomato plants anywhere, cause I love homegrown tomatoes. I could sneak back at night and swipe a couple.
I think as long as you don’t live in a community that has a HOA you should grow whatever and wherever you want. An alternative, and what I am doing this year, is to grow them in what I like to call BAPs (Big A** Pots). I use the huge black plastic ones (25gal). This is the first year I have grown them in containers and it looks as if it will be my best crop ever.
I don’t know about tacky, but I’d much rather see tomatoes in the front yard than an uncared-for property. I say, grow 'em, and I’ll be happy to take some off your hands!
Strictly speaking, according to the Big Unspoken Southern Belle’s Rulebook, tomato plants are back yard and not front yard plants.
However, if there isn’t enough sun in the back yard, it is far tackier to try and get by on nasty storebought tomatoes. Make sure your tomato cages are reasonably pleasant-looking and get varieties that look pretty on the vine, like the Zapotec Pleated or whatever heirloom varieties grow in your area. Plant some other pretty-looking edibles around (flowering chives and kale are good) and call it a kitsch kitchen garden.
Front lawns originated from the bourgeoisie’s attempts to impress their neighbors with their wealth. Only peasants had to grow food in front of their houses. So if you’re into that kind of thing, by all means keep the 'maters out back. However, I think they look nice, and don’t see why not. Get some tangerines, brandywines, and other aesthetically-pleasing varieties and enjoy!
Well, I’m not a Southern Belle, but I agree about it being tacky. And, that attitude goes way, way back; it isn’t “today’s stuck-up suburban standards”. It comes from my mother, who was raised as a proper Bostonian, by a proper Bostonian. And it’s never been aceptable to grow vegetables in the front yard, except in cases of dire emergency. Dire meaning situations like the Great Depression and World War II. It may be an old “stuck-up suburban standard”, but it certainly isn’t anything new.
The front yard establishes the household’s social standing for casual visitors. A flower garden says class and affluence. A vegetable garden says poor, weird, or just plain tacky. Vegetables belong in the back yard. Or, so they say.
Of course, these standards are dated, so feel free to ignore them. It’s your life, and your yard (as long as you don’t have community standards that you’d be violating).
My next door neighbor (who also happens to be my sister-in-law) grew tomatoes in her front yard last year. Nothing tacky about that.
HOWEVER, she used old pantyhose to tie the plants to the fence, and for one spot where there wasn’t enough fence, she used an old crutch. An old “I broke my leg” crutch.
She hasn’t planted anything this year, but the pantyhose and the crutch remain. This winter, we used the crutch as a handy tool to measure the depth of the snow. “Look Hon, the snow’s all the way to the top of the crutch! How do you like that!”
Absolutely not. While you’re at it, put some other veggies out there too. Peppers are beautiful, as are bean plants on a trellis.
If the neighbors don’t like it, don’t share. Except the middle-of-the-night-zucchini-bags left on their porch.
Then sit in your lawn chair, with a salt shaker, beer, and tomato juice running down your arms.
When they glare at you, ignore them.
