The red, round tomato you buy at the grocery store is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tomato varieties. Tomatoes come in a range of colors, from yellow to black and in a range of sizes, from tiny to larger than your fist. Some tomato plants are early, meaning they produce fruit in less than 60 days, while others need more time to reach maturity.
Determinate vs. Indeterminate
The world of tomato plants can be divided into determinate varieties and indeterminate varieties. A determinate tomato variety stops growing once it produces flower clusters. The determinate tomato plant produces fruit once during the season. An indeterminate tomato plant just keeps going until frost or disease gets the better of it. Indeterminate plants can grow up to 20 feet long while determinate plants are generally much smaller, around 3 feet tall. An indeterminate plant needs to be pruned to keep it in check. Pruning a tomato plant encourages it to produce fruit earlier.
Hybrid vs. Heirloom
A hybrid tomato plant has been carefully bred so it has certain characteristics, such as red color, or is able to resist common tomato diseases, such as fusarium wilt or tobacco mosaic virus. The major drawback of growing a hybrid tomato is that you can't save the seeds from it. There is no guarantee that growing a new plant from a hybrid's seeds will produce the same tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated, meaning you can save the seeds and get the same results, year after year. Heirloom tomatoes usually take longer to produce fruits and heirlooms and do not resist as many diseases, notes University of Illinois Extension.
The tomato's type determines how much room it needs to grow. An indeterminate plant that you plan on staking or training to grow on a trellis needs at least 15 inches of space on all sides. Dwarf or determinate plants need at least 12 inches of space. Dwarf varieties are also a smart choice for a container, though you can grow large varieties in big containers, such as clean garbage cans or tubs. If you don't plan on staking your plants, give each plant about 4 feet of space on all sides.
Tomatoes grow quickly, which means they need a good amount of nutrition. When you transplant the seedlings to the garden or container, fill in the hole around the root ball and stem with compost. "Organic Gardening" magazine recommends feeding the plant with a dose of liquid seaweed each week. Add a handful of compost to the soil about once a month during the growing period. Water the plants regularly, aiming the water at the soil, not the leaves. Wet leaves are more prone to diseases. Don't let the soil dry out between waterings, especially if you are growing the tomatoes in a container.
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