Better than indeterminate tomatoes
The other day, my pet came out into the garden to find me burying head first in our Amish paste tomatoes, cutting them off, and cursing. He had to duck as green branches flew at him from the tangle of tomatoes. This is the third time this summer that I've had to recover my basil, cucumbers, and tomatoes from these tomatoes.
We haven't eaten a single tomato yet.
I stood up, looking at the mad scientist; White linen shirt twisted and clinging to my sweaty frame, hair sticking out at all angles, with a maddened look in my eye, I said, "That's it! From now on, we're growing firm tomatoes!" He looked at me and asked, "What are we growing?"
Determine the tomatoes.
If you are new to gardening, this distinction may be unfamiliar to you, but there are two types of tomatoes - determinate and indeterminate. (Don't worry, many seasoned gardeners don't know the difference.) And after careful consideration (and picking tomato leaves out of my hair), I can think of some very good reasons to grow only firm tomatoes.
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Reasons why determinate tomatoes are better than indeterminate tomatoes
The other day, my pet came out into the garden to find me burying head first in our Amish paste tomatoes, cutting them off, and cursing. He had to duck as green branches flew at him from the tangle of tomatoes. This is the third time this summer that I've had to recover my basil, cucumbers, and tomatoes from these tomatoes.
1. Best for short growing seasons
Firm tomatoes are best for people living with a short growing season. Many of the tomato varieties I recommend growing in the short season are hardy. When time is of the essence, you can't wait for a sprawling plant that will devote more energy to expanding its territory than releasing fruit. Firm tomatoes stop growing once they begin to set fruit, and most do so earlier than their non-firm cousins. That means you'll have a good harvest of tomatoes all at once before your season ends.
2. Not much shade
Finding a spot in the garden for tomatoes can be tricky because of their size. Their height can shade other plants growing near them. This is especially true when you have an indecisive type. As long as you don't prune them, they stay tall. Most sturdy varieties, between two and four feet tall, make excellent tomatoes if you care about shade. Thus, one can go anywhere in the garden without casting too much shade on the neighbors.
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3. Complex stacking is unnecessary
Storing indeterminate tomatoes is rarely a one-size-fits-all deal. You start the season with one of those nice vinyl-coated tomato cages, and by early June, it's nowhere to be found. The tomato absorbed it and continued to grow, its many arms emerging from its metal corset and bent over the dominion of the entire garden. Even with another method like Florida weaving, you may find yourself pulling the wrong strands back into the rope, or worse, snapping them as you try to pull them back into the rope.
Eventually, you give up trying to control it and start hacking away at its elements, which becomes a weekly chore. Of course, that's not to say that sturdy tomatoes don't need some support, but rather that once you stake them, they're good to go all season. They are quite content hanging out in their tomato cages.
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4. Got a small garden?
If space is an issue, growing firm tomatoes makes sense. Raised beds are very popular and for good reason. They look great in your yard, you control soil quality and nutrients, and they're much easier to work with if they're tall.
I mentioned earlier that if you have raised beds, you should store something other than tomatoes. But if you're strapped and determined to have tomatoes in your raised beds or small vegetable patches, tomatoes are your best choice because they're more compact and don't spread.
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5. Suitable for canning
What if your goal in growing tomatoes is jar after jar of fresh tomato juice or homemade salsa? Set tomatoes are the home canner's best friend because they ripen their fruit all at once. This gives you a harvest of tomatoes, which provides you with plenty of fruit to work with. Indeterminate varieties will give you fruit all summer long, but it will be a few fruits here and there.
If you have a pantry to fill, you'll want to choose a sturdy tomato variety.
6. The perfect patio or balcony tomato
Determined tomatoes do well in containers because of their size, which makes them perfect patio or balcony-sized plants. Their shrub-like status means they look good and add some greenery without much maintenance. Not to mention, grabbing some tomatoes for that burger you're grilling is only a few steps away.
7. There is little to no pruning
Finally, pruning is the most important reason tomatoes are superior to their vining cousins. Likewise, firm tomatoes have none. Remember, they have a set growth rate and stop growing once they set their fruit. Rarely determinate tomatoes need an occasional pinch here and there. Since they only produce one fruit, any pruning you do will reduce their yield. Terminated tomatoes are the closest you can get to a set-it-for-it tomato.
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