A Lone Tomato Plant Was Spotted Growing in the Middle of the East River

Photo: Matt Frey

The story behind this tomato is juicy.

Frey was out on the water on his paddleboard between Pier 1 and 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park when he saw the leaves. “I’m used to seeing things grow here, but nothing as special as that,” Frey, 54, told theTimes. “Things like that just make me happy.”

According to the newspaper, the tomato is eight piles back — barely visible from the pier without binoculars — and as of Tuesday, still thriving.

How it got there in the first place is merely an educated guess, albeit a humorous one. “It’s a bird, for sure,” said Tyrome Tripoli, another witness to the miracle. “They eat it, and they crap it somewhere else.”

Jim Giovannoni, a tomato expert and United States Department of Agriculture molecular biologist at Cornell, confirmed the theory to theTimes: “A bird’s probably the best bet.”

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It’s become a symbol of perseverance: “The little tomato that could,” wrote another fan.

source: people.com