Determinate vs. Indeterminate
Photo courtesy metaphoricalplatypus/Flickr
I received this question via email so thought I would answer it in a blog posting so more folks could read it.
Determinate and indeterminate are terms you usually see with tomatoes. The terms refer to how large the plants get and how they grow.
Determinate types grow more bushy and compact. They grow well in cages and are good for small space gardens, and don’t have to be pruned. These plants reach a certain size, flower, set fruit, then pretty much stop growing.
Indeterminate types are vines that grow tall. They will outgrow tomato cages, but grow great on a trellis. They will need some type of staking to keep them off the ground. These types set fruit continuously, and grow as large plants with lots of foliage.
Generally speaking, the most flavorful varieties are the indeterminate types. These plants also grow the biggest tomatoes, and more tomatoes than determinate types, so your yield per square foot is greater.
Indeterminate types can take up a ton of garden space if you don’t train them, but if you trellis them, you can grow them in only 1 square foot of space per plant. See my other blog posting on trellising tomatoes, if you’re interested in learning more.
Tomatoes are usually the first and favorite vegetable (OK, I know it’s a fruit) grown by vegetable gardeners. What are your favorite varieties?
January 19, 2013 - 7:21 AM
For me, it has to be the Early Girl. Indeterminate, up to 6 oz. And the very earliest tomato I have found at 52 days from setting out. This is usually my 4th of July tomato, the accepted standard to beat your neighbor.
DC, forgot to mention that if anyone would like to have some rosemary rooted, I’ve got a big plant that I will probably cut some sprigs and root them, then cut and dry some. That is if it makes it thru this cold snap. Been settin outside for 2 winters sofar and thriving. A
wdbrand – Rosemary – yes, I would be interested in one or two. I am surprised that it has survived the winters outside. I always bring mine inside. I have just clipped sprigs and hung them up to dry – they do fine. With the plant inside for the winter, I can just clip what I need and use it fresh – ie. roasted potatoes with olive oil and chopped rosemary and then also roasted sweet potatoes tossed with a little olive oil, honey and chopped rosemary.
With our indeterminate types, we just keep them pruned to about 4 feet and they seem to do just fine.
I think I’ll pick one vine and trim it serverely just to see if it outproduces the others.
wd – let us know how that experiment goes!
wd, we likewise have 2 rosemary plants that have lived outside the past 2 years just fine, I think because the winters have been so mild. But, I think this week will probably be cold enough to kill them off. I’ll take some additional cuttings and bring them inside.
The great thing about the recent weather is that almost our entire precipitation deficit from 2012 was erased, so hopefully the trend continues so planting in the spring has adequate soil moisture to work with for a bountiful harvest in the summer.
Will do.