It may seem odd that I touch on the topic of "Innovation" and use heirloom tomatoes as my inspiration. It is from this "surprising corner" of our garden this spring that I am reminded of the unusual and unexpected sources of "Innovation," and I want to encourage leaders to be open, willing and ready to be surprised as innovative ideas/products/processes show up on their radar screens.
I have been an avid gardener my whole life and come from a family of very keen gardeners. My paternal grandmother ( "MaMa") kept a large garden for decades, canning green beans, pickles, stewed tomatoes and other treats that she grew herself. My brother is a master gardener, and produces an incredible array of fruits and vegetables every year. As for me... a self described gardening "novice," my focus is on tomatoes... and specifically two varieties of heirloom tomatoes. One variety has been raised in my family for decades... certainly more than 50 years... and maybe longer than 75. MaMa raised them for years in her garden, then my father kept up the tradition, then passed the seeds along to my brother and me. I have raised them for more than 25 years and have shared the seeds with friends and fellow gardeners across the globe. Its a determinate ( only grows to a limited height) tomato plant, with serrated leaves, that puts off orange "tennis ball" sized fruit that show a faint pink stripe when ripe... I call them "MaMa's old stripers." The second variety was given to me by the parents of my childhood friend Dave Carfang. This variety has been grown by his family or ours since the mid 1970's, and is an indeterminate ( grows to an unlimited height) tomato plant, with smooth edged leaves, and produces very large pink fruit... sometimes between 1-2 pounds per tomato... and we call them the "Carfang big pinks." Every year I keep the seeds from one exceptional tomato from each variety, prepare them and set them aside for the following season. This year that process has produced some unexpected outcomes... an unexpected "Innovation"...that I only recognized once the seedlings were transplanted into the garden.
The picture above is of this "unexpected innovation" which came from the seeds of a single "Carfang big pink" from last summer. It's tall, growing well and the same height as the other "big pinks'... but it has serrated leaves..just like the "old stripers!" Over the decades that I have been growing the "big pinks," I have never seen this phenomenon... this permutation.... this "innovation" before! The first picture below is of a small "old striper" in the garden today (note the height and serrated leaves) and the second one is of a "big pink" plant, also in the garden today(note the height and the smooth leaves.) I have no idea what this "new tomato plant" will produce, or whether it will actually bear fruit this season.... but I can't wait to see!! I knew that heirloom tomatoes (unlike hybrid varieties) are open pollinators and could be "open" to cross pollination... I just had never seen it before and was certainly not setting out to create a new varietal!
I will keep everyone posted on the progress, and hopefully the fruit, of this new tomato variety... but I share this story to make a point. I have been gardening for decades... and my family has been "in the garden" for more than 100 years for sure.... and this little "new" tomato plant has blown me away! In that same spirit... as leaders of businesses, organizations and teams I want to encourage each of you to be ready to be surprised by innovations in areas that you thought you knew very well... areas that you have worked on for years or maybe decades. Be ready... be open ... be flexible for the innovations happening in "your gardens" right now and enjoy the process and get excited about the unique/unexpected examples of "Innovation" that may surprise you when you are least looking for them!
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