What Type Of Tomatoes To Grow

When growing tomatoes, choosing the variety is important. You need to decide what characteristics are the most important to you, as well as the climate and disease susceptibility in your area. No one variety will perform best across all planting seasons and regions. Issues such as fruit firmness, size, shape, flavour and plant growing habits need to be considered.You also need to decide whether you want a ‘jointed’ tomato variety or not. In other words, do you want a tomato variety that retains its stalk when picked or one that comes away cleanly from its stalk when picked. Many commercial organic and gourmet tomato growers choose ‘jointed’ tomato varieties because the tomato with its stalk attached looks attractive to the buyer. However, most home gardeners and non-organic commercial growers choose ‘jointless’ varieties.The next choice is whether you want a ‘determinate’ or ‘indeterminate’ variety. A determinate variety grows to a bush about 1 metre (3 feet) high. At this stage it stops growing and sets a concentrated crop of tomatoes which can be picked over a few weeks.

Golden Sunburst	Black Russian

Indeterminate varieties keep growing and can reach a height of up to 5 metres (15 or more feet) when fully mature. The fruit from these can be picked over a period of 12 to 20 weeks. These varieties are frequently used by greenhouse producers. Many cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate.

There are also ‘semi-determinate’ varieties which grow to about 1.5 – 2 metres (4 – 6 ft) and set fruit over a longer period than determinate varieties. These are the best suited to home gardens. They generally require staking and the tomatoes are harvested over 2 – 6 weeks.

Tomato varieties mature over a wide range of time spans, commonly from 75 days for early cherry types to 85 days for early full size fruit types, 100 days for medium, and 110 days for later, full season varieties from direct seeded plantings.  Transplanted plantings would be about 25 days less.

Detailed information on hot climate and cold climate varieties as well as images and usage and cultivation notes on 1300 popular varieties is provided in How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes .