Common Indeterminate Tomatoes: Cherry, Beefsteak, Big Boy, Better Boy. Determinate tomato cultivars are also sometimes referred to as “bush” cultivars, because of their bushy shapes. The fruits are grown on plants with a determinate, indeterminate and even semi-determinate manner. They include the big, sliced or salad tomato varieties. It’s also disease resistant, and produces heavy yields about 85 days from transplanting. Let’s start with the determinate cultivars. With indeterminate and semi-determinate varieties (cordons), tie the plants to a support as they grow. The Difference Between Determinate & Indeterminate Tomatoes. Speaking of red fruit – you’ll notice that indeterminate cultivars will often have flowers, immature fruit, and ripe fruit on the plant all at the same time. How big will they get? To can these cultivars, the trick is to grow several plants at once, so that you have enough fruit ripening at the same time for canning. As verbs the difference between determine and determinate is that determine is to set the limits of while determinate is (obsolete) to bring to an end; to determine. Semi-determinate varieties keep growing through the season, but generally remain smaller than indeterminate plants, with a … While the dwarf and smaller determinate tomato cultivars thrive in 1- or 2-gallon pots, an indeterminate cultivar needs room for its roots. Their long vines can easily reach to heights up to 12 or 14 feet. When it comes to tomato talk, the terms indeterminate and determinate are used quite often. Of all the currant tomatoes available, it’s the sweetest with 12 °Bx. Because determinate tomato plants are smaller than indeterminate ones, they are sometimes grown in containers or five-gallon buckets. They stop growing and producing fruit when they reach their inherent size. Now that you have a general idea of what these terms mean, you may be wondering how you can tell which category a particular cultivar falls into. Both determinate and indeterminate tomato varieties have their pros and cons. What will they taste like? Vines are relatively compact and bear their full crop in a period of one to two months. Most heirloom and large-fruited tomatoes are indeterminate. Semi-determinate tomato cultivars tend to have a large amount of fruit come to maturity early in the summer, and then they continue to set fruit less abundantly throughout the growing season. How to Prune "Early Girl" Tomato Plants. See our TOS for more details. But not all indeterminates are large or heirlooms! Because of this weight, you need heavyweight cages or stakes to support the plants. Determinate Tomatoes – These tomato plants are smaller, bush tomatoes, that stop growing around 3-4 feet tall. Ideal for tarts, flatbreads, and salads, you’ll adore the big harvest of these little cuties. Bush tomatoes are bred to grow to a compact height, generally not more than four feet. Are they determinate or indeterminate? These are ones that will start out with a large initial group of fruit. The indeterminate tomato varieties have much longer stem growth, which continues to grow until cold weather arrives. Since indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow new shoots and flowers all summer long, they’ll set fruit throughout the whole growing season. I have included a table below to compare determinate and indeterminate tomatoes head-to-head. Depending upon the variety, indeterminate tomato plants grow from six to even twenty feet tall. From cherry to large-fruited, explore our assortment of indeterminate (tall vine) tomato varieties. Determinate tomato plants are those that grow to a predetermined size, produce a crop of fruit and then die. Are they determinate or indeterminate? They are one of my husband’s all-time favorites. and are smaller than most cherry-types. This is usually done with pruning and staking. If your first fall frost tends to come early, like it does in my short-season garden, you may not have time to get much of a harvest from the later-maturing indeterminate varieties – so make sure you pick one that is appropriate for the length of your growing season. 54 days. Will you stick with the more well-behaved determinate types? Indeterminate. When these flower clusters bloom, foliage growth is effectively halted, allowing the plant to instead put its energy into reproduction, or in other words, turning pollinated flowers into fruit. If you want a thick tomato for making sauces, you are better off with a paste tomato, which tends to be determinate. Tomato Search Find Your Perfect Tomato. The greenhouse industry uses indeterminate tomatoes and will sometimes have tomato plants of 40 feet or more! The form the tomato plant takes is a big clue as to which tomato variety you grow. But what do these various growth habits mean for you and your garden? And just in case any of our readers in Louisiana are wondering, I think the book Robin is referring to is The Louisiana Urban Gardener by Kathryn Fontenot. And since the flowers bloom at the same time, the fruits will also all ripen pretty much at the same time – within a period of a few weeks. As far as support goes, they are treated largely like determinate types – both cages and the Florida weave will work well if you’re growing these. A comparison of determinate vs indeterminate tomatoes shows one is a vine and one is bushy. The determinate types are compact and bushier, from 12-24 inches tall. (Image by AAS Winners) There are several things to consider when choosing a prime cherry tomato. In my garden in northeast Utah, I don’t stake my determinate tomatoes. Advantages to Indeterminate Tomatoes. If it is fairly short (no more than four to five feet tall), then it is probably a determinate tomato. Delicious! Determinate tomato plants tend to start producing fruit earlier than indeterminate tomato plants.