My son and I had a friendly competition going in the vegetable garden. I was growing tomatoes my way, and he was growing them his way. My way involves largely ignoring them and watering them here and there. His way involved excessive pruning and lots of string.

A few weeks into the growing season, his plants weren’t looking so hot. I was enjoying fresh tomatoes on my salads. My son decided to pivot midseason. He stopped pruning, used some fertilizer, and added supports to the stems. Well, he caught up to me and had an amazing late-season harvest. We both learned a few things.