To Determinate, or To Indeterminate
There’s just something about tomatoes that symbolizes summer. It could be the smell, the taste, or the variety of colors that so many love. Typically, they’re easy to grow in ground or in a container and return a high yield for the space they occupy. Whatever the reason, tomatoes are amongst the most widely grown crops in gardens across America.
To know which tomatoes will grow best in your garden or container, you need to know whether the varieties you’re considering are determinate (also known as bush tomatoes) or indeterminate (also known as vining tomatoes). A determinate variety grows to a predetermined size and bears its fruit in a shorter window, while indeterminate varieties grow larger for a longer growing season, producing fruit on an ongoing basis.
Which growing habit is right for you depends on your tomato-growing goals. Here are four key factors to consider when choosing which variety of tomato that is best for you.
SPACE: If the lack of space is what’s keeping you from growing tomatoes, a determinate variety may be able to solve the problem. They can be grown in hanging baskets, window boxes, and many other containers. If, on the other hand, you have room for a trellis or other method of supporting a sprawling plant, then you can accommodate an indeterminate variety.
EFFORT: Determinate tomato varieties require less work than indeterminate varieties—unless, of course, pruning and trellising are on your list of summer activities to accomplish!
INTENDED USE: It’s easier to preserve food when you have an abundance available at the same time, which makes a determinate variety ideal for canning. If you desire fresh tomatoes throughout the growing season, an indeterminate variety makes sense.
VARIETY & TASTE: Most heirloom varieties are indeterminate tomatoes and are considered to be more flavorful than their counterparts.
Which kind is right for you and your garden goals?
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