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Winter is the time to make plans for the next summer season and choose new varieties of tomatoes, but when reading the descriptions of a particular variety, you can often find the terms determinant and indeterminate. And seeing these complex words, even experienced gardeners are often lost, to say nothing of beginners.
But in fact, if you know what exactly lies behind these definitions, it becomes much easier to choose a new variety that will satisfy all your requirements. Therefore, let’s try to figure out what a determinate tomato variety is, so that the choice of seeds is a conscious process.
Determinate tomato after tying 4 – 8 brushes stops growing. It follows that the indeterminate variety does not have such a restriction, and can grow up and tie an unlimited number of flower brushes.
The main differences between determinant and indeterminate varieties of tomato
But this substitution is not always appropriate. Let us consider in more detail the differences between determinant varieties of tomatoes and indeterminate ones.
Determinant Varieties
What does determinant mean? Tomatoes with this mark usually give the first ovary after 5-7 leaves, subsequent ovaries appear every two leaves. The main advantage of such tomatoes is an early harvest, which, as a rule, ripens at the same time. In addition, limited growth allows you to spend less time tying and forming a bush.
Determinate tomatoes are well suited for growing outdoors (this applies to the middle lane). It is necessary to choose such seeds for growing in a greenhouse only in the northern regions with cold and short summers.
If the bushes are not formed, you will get a plant overloaded with small fruits, which will not have enough strength to ripen all the tomatoes that have started.
The only exception will be standard tomatoes. These are the shortest varieties among determinant tomatoes, they have a strong stem, so they do not need either shaping or support. They are also called super-determinate, they are usually the earliest – they begin fruiting after 75-90 days. But for these advantages, you will have to “pay” with the amount of the crop. Their limit is three brushes from a bush.
For more information about pinching (what it is and why you need it) of this variety of tomato, see here:
Indeterminate varieties
Such tomatoes are unlimited in growth and, with proper care, can grow and produce a crop for a whole year. The first ovary usually forms after 9-12 leaves, and then appears every three leaves. With proper care, you can collect up to a bucket of fruit from one bush per season. But for such high performance, you will have to pay with labor costs.
Indetes belong to remontant varieties, i.e. they repeatedly bloom and bear fruit, stopping vegetation only when the daily temperature drops. Fruiting begins 110 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Due to their rather large growth, such tomatoes are less likely to suffer from late blight, which usually affects the lower parts of the plant.
For other important details about growing tall tomatoes, see here:
Which variety is better to choose
Now that you know all the pros and cons of both varieties, the question is natural – what to choose. There is no single answer to this question. The choice should be made according to several criteria:
- open or closed ground;
- climatic zone;
- labor costs;
- cultivation purposes.
Firstly, you need to understand that only determinant varieties are suitable for open ground, which, under the conditions of a short summer, can provide you with a small, but rather friendly harvest. If you have a greenhouse at your disposal, then indeterminate varieties, with proper care, will give a greater yield. But the labor costs for the maintenance of these giants will also increase.
Secondly, do not forget to take into account the climatic zone in which this or that variety will grow. In the northernmost regions, where growing tomatoes in the open field is impossible, even for a greenhouse it is worth choosing determinant varieties that will allow you to get a crop in a short summer.
Thirdly, among the main differences between these varieties, there will be a time period during which the fruits will ripen. Indeterminate varieties will produce and set fruit at the same time. Determinate tomatoes will begin to ripen after all the brushes are tied.
Fourthly, your choice will also depend on the purposes for which you grow tomatoes. If this is a hobby for you, then the determinants are the perfect choice for you – minimal care and your tomatoes for harvesting. But if you decide to grow tomatoes for sale and the main criterion for you is the yield of the variety, then choose indeterminate seeds. But be prepared to provide them with proper care and nutrition, which these giants will need a lot.
These data are usually indicated by seed producers on the back of the seed bag. If you make a deliberate choice, the harvest will only please.