How to identify determinate and indeterminate plants
naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
14 years ago
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carolyn137
14 years agoRelated Discussions
are my Tomatoes determinate or indeterminate?
Comments (3)Determinate tomatoes should never be pruned. Many, many people do not prune indeterminate tomatoes. Usually, when you purchase seeds or plants, the labeling will tell you whether the plants will be determinate or indeterminate. If not, you can find the info on the internet by doing a search for your particular variety. One of the best places to find the info for heirloom and open pollinated tomatoes is on Tatiana's TOMATObase site. Or you can post a list here and I am sure the good people on this forum will be happy to tell you which ones are which (if they are known varieties.) I hope that helps. Betsy Here is a link that might be useful: Tatiana's TOMATObase - Heritage Tomatoes This post was edited by bets on Mon, May 20, 13 at 12:49...See Moredeterminant or indeterminate
Comments (2)Welll if they are determinate then you won't want to prune them at all. If they are indeterminate then you aren't required to prune them either. It is strictly optional. So either way, no pruning is necessary. That said, the variety called Chinese Purple is listed as an indeterminate beefsteak variety on the two sources I checked. So it will require caging or staking and any pruning yes or no is your choice. As to removing blooms, that too is optional. The plant will either set fruit with them if it is mature enough or drop them if it isn't so it makes no difference and most just let the plant decide. Shame to miss out on that first fruit if it isn't necessary. So it is up to you. Dave...See MoreDeterminate or Indeterminate for fall?
Comments (2)In your zone it is probably your choice. Folks up further north would probably stick with short DTM determinates for Fall gardens so they can get a crop before the first freeze. So variety is a bit more important than type. When do you get first frost average? Pick a variety with a DTM that falls in before that date. Follow me? If you are buying a transplant your choices will be very limited this time of year anyway which is why most of us who do Fall gardens use our own traqnsplants grown from seed a few weeks ago or use rooted cuttings. Dave...See MoreHow to tell determinate from indeterminate?
Comments (13)I'm looking for something definitive, that you can tell by looking at them before fruits ripen. Does a determinate still flower when it has a lot of LARGE green fruit? I can't tell by height, and I can't tell by when it's "on its last legs" b/c these are going strong and have not had the foliar diseases that the heirlooms (or even Latah, now that we had 5" of rain on Friday) have had. And it looks like they're going to go right up til frost since frost really isn't that far off, we've had some cool nights already. Sturdy plants that shrugged off the rain and the heat (though they did get early morning and very late afternoon shade in July) and now the rain and cold again. They're not what Burpee said they were (at least not the "cocktail tomatoes") but I can't wait to taste a ripe one b/c whatever they are they seem to be a pretty prolific producer, though late (but everything this year is late). If they taste good I hope they're not hybrid so I can save seed, I do have some seed left. I'm with you on not growing determinates when indeterminates produce longer - that's why I planted over 100 indeterminates and 20 "determinates" - thinking that when they were done I'd plant fall peas there. Had to find a different area for the peas....See Moremulio
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14 years agojtcm05
14 years agonaturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
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