Grow Your Own Tomatoes!

There’s nothing better than homegrown, ripe juicy tomatoes. They offer great flavor and better texture than just about any tomato you can find in the local produce section. If you planted tomatoes in your garden this spring, the first fruits of your labor should be evident any day now. By early summer, healthy tomato plants will have plenty of flowers along with small green fruits. In some parts of the country, tomatoes are already ripening.

They’re an easy-to-grow crop, but like every vegetable, they can have problems. A common question among gardeners is “why did my tomato plant stop producing?” Knowing what type of tomato you’re growing may help answer that question.

Tomato Types

Tomato plants typically fall into one of two categories: Indeterminate and determinate. Indeterminate (climbing) plants, such as Big Beef, Brandywine and Cherokee Purple, continue growing until frost. The plants may have flowers, immature fruit and ripe fruit all at the same time. They can grow several feet and they need a support.

Determinate plants, such as Celebrity, Marglobe and Better Bush, are more bushy and compact and tend to grow all their flowers and fruits at the end of the stems. They produce all of their fruit over a period of two weeks or so and then the plant stops growing. As the fruit ripens, the plant starts to shut down. Determinate types are good for those gardeners who wish to freeze or can the tomatoes for winter use.

The Well-Trained Tomato

Indeterminate plants grow best when the vines stand upright and are held off the ground. If you let them sprawl, you’ll get more fruits, but they will be harder to pick, the stems may crack as you move them and the fruit can rot if it’s sitting on the soil. Stake, trellis or cage them for the best results. For example, plants trained to a tall metal or wood stake will produce fewer, but larger fruits that are easier to harvest than if the vines are left to sprawl. Once flowering begins, the tomato vines must be routinely tied to the support with twine or cloth strips to keep the stems from cracking under the weight of the fruit.