Garden Tomato 'Arrested' for Breaking Self-Isolation. New Gardening Style with 24-Hour Drone Surveillance is Born

A company has unveiled the ultimate garden born from excessive hygiene concerns. In 'Secure Gardening,' popular among the wealthy, each plant is managed by GPS, and contact with neighboring plants is strictly prohibited. Recently, a family's cherry tomato was suspected of 'close contact' with neighboring basil and was picked by a surveillance drone and disposed of in compost.

2025-11-14

Translations: JA

Culture Kaleidoscope

Garden Tomato 'Arrested' for Breaking Self-Isolation. New Gardening Style with 24-Hour Drone Surveillance is Born

A company has unveiled the ultimate garden born from excessive hygiene concerns. In “Secure Gardening,” popular among the wealthy, each plant is managed by GPS, and contact with neighboring plants is strictly prohibited. Recently, a family’s cherry tomato was suspected of “close contact” with neighboring basil and was picked by a surveillance drone and disposed of in compost.

It seems that an era has arrived where not only conversations with neighbors, but even “密” (close proximity) among garden plants is not permitted. Quietly becoming a boom among the wealthy in urban areas is a new service called “Secure Gardening,” which manages the social distance between plants down to the millimeter. Surveillance drones are deployed 24/7 in subscribers’ gardens, and AI constantly analyzes the location information of GPS tags attached to all plants. The thoroughness is such that even when branches sway in the wind and violate the stipulated “Social Planting Distance,” a warning sound rings out.

According to Agri-Safety Solutions, the company providing this service, they advocate a “three-no” philosophy of “sterile, contactless, and non-interference,” protecting crops not only from the risk of pests and diseases but also from potential threats such as “unintended cross-pollination” and “competition for nutrients” among plants. The company’s brochure features a philosophical catchphrase: “Your vegetables will reach your table in a pristine state, never having touched a neighboring leaf from birth.”

The incident occurred at a residence in a prime location in Tokyo. In the garden of resident Mr. A (45, IT company executive), a cherry tomato (identification number: TM-077) laden with fruit was blown by strong winds and came into contact with the leaves of neighboring basil (identification number: BS-251) for several seconds. As soon as the sensor detected this “illegal contact,” an alert sounded in the command room (installed in Mr. A’s study). A drone immediately rushed to the scene, precisely picked the problematic cherry tomato with its arm, and forcibly escorted it to the “isolation zone” compost.

In an interview with our newspaper, Mr. A stated with a resolute attitude, “It’s unfortunate, but it’s the rules. We can’t allow the deviant behavior of a single tomato to threaten the biosecurity of the entire garden. His (the tomato’s) sacrifice was necessary for the safety of the other vegetables.” He spoke as if discussing national security.

Regarding this phenomenon, Professor Makabe of semiotics at Toto Information University points out, “It’s a microcosm of the ultimate controlled society. People seek targets they can control and have finally extended their reach to nature itself. By ‘arresting’ tomatoes, they gain a sense of omnipotence, feeling they are controlling an uncertain world. From the tomato’s perspective, it’s an absolute nuisance,” he analyzes.

The company is currently developing a “next-generation plant behavior prediction AI” based on the collected plant behavior data. In the future, they are also considering a service to detect and “guide” “ideologically biased cucumbers (that grow only in specific directions)” or “rebellious bitter gourds (that extend their vines too much)” in advance.

The “arrested” cherry tomato will transform into fertile soil to nurture new life next spring. His “criminal record” will be erased from the records, and on the orderly garden built upon his sacrifice, sterile vegetables will grow again. Thus, the perfectly controlled dystopian dining table is richly adorned today as well.

Stakeholder Comments

Arrested Cherry Tomato (in the compost): “I was just swaying in the wind and greeting Mr. Basil next door… Was it wrong to ripen red?”
Neighboring Basil: “He smelled so nice… I’m shrinking my leaves thinking I might be considered an ‘accomplice’ at any moment.”
Surveillance Drone (model number: AG-DRN7): “No emotions. Deviated 0.8mm from regulation distance. Eliminated target according to protocol. Mission complete.”
User Mr. A: “Now I can eat organic salad with peace of mind. Maybe I’ll also subscribe to the garden stone location tracking service next.”
Agri-Safety Solutions CEO: “This is the future of agriculture. We provide not only food safety but also peace of mind for everyone.”
Professor Makabe (Semiotics Scholar): “The red of the tomato may have been a warning color to the system.”
Soil: “All sorts of folks come every year, but this year’s tomato is particularly noisy. Well, in the end, everyone becomes part of me.”
Wind: “Wait, it’s my fault? Is being free also a crime now…?”
Pest (Aphid): “Security is too tight, I can’t eat! This is a violation of the right to survive!”
Sun: “I thought I was illuminating everyone equally… but humans seem to like to discriminate.”

International Expressions

Haiku

Red tomato / Touched and picked / Under surveillance
Drones dance / Close-contact tomato / Under arrest
Avoiding basil / Vegetables living / Distance sadness
Wind blows / Tomato arrest / Siren sounds
Sterile room / Growing cucumber’s / Pale blue
Branch extends / Crosses border / Immediately compost
High-tech / Garden has no / Freedom
Thinned fruit / Returns to soil / Awaits spring
Managed / Living vegetables’ / Tastelessness
To compost / Even drone’s / Escort attached

Kanji / Chinese Characters

過剰衛生観念究極庭誕生富裕層流行安全園芸植物一本一本GPS管理隣接植物接触固禁先日家庭トマト隣接濃厚接触疑監視ドローン摘取堆肥処分

Emoji

🍅🌿➡️⬅️💨🫂❓🚨🤖🚓✂️➡️🗑️🌱

Onomatopoeia

Bzzzz… (drone flight sound) Beep… Beep… Beep… (GPS monitoring sound) Rustle rustle… (sound of leaves touching) Beep! Beep! (warning alert) Swish! (arm activation sound) Pluck! (picking sound) Toss (disposal sound)