How to grow determinite tomatoes

jevans 5/8/2012, 11:30 pm

Mel talks of single stem for indeterminites, but should you use a small tomatoe cage for determinites at the rate of one per square foot? Thanks for feedback!

happycamper 5/8/2012, 11:44 pm

That is a very good question. I do use cages on determinate tomatoes. Some of them get very tall and when the wind comes down the gorge with a good rain storm the plants have been known to "flop" over. The cages keep the plants contained. I am looking forward to seeing other forum members replies to your question. Happy Gardening!

givvmistamps 5/9/2012, 8:54 am

People use all sorts of supports around here. My tomatoes are in planters and pots; one large planter has two Roma tomatoes in it, but all the others are singles. I decided to go with a teepee made from three bamboo sticks for most of my determinates, but the pair of Romas are currently in a Florida weave. I'm finding that my determinate Roma tomatoes are prolific in the leaf department, and I'm wishing the Roma pair had a bit more elbow room in the planter. I've had to go in and prune out some of the leaves so that they get enough air to keep away diseases and keep an eye out for pests. I guess I need to get some more current photos, as I've just discovered that I don't have one with the supports as they stand now. Embarassed

I'll try to remember to post them for you.

littlesapphire 5/9/2012, 9:06 am

I've been wondering how to support my determinates, too! I'm going to be planting two in 5 gallon buckets and I'm afraid a good wind might knock them over. Maybe a large tomato cage set around the whole bucket... Michelle, I would love to see your teepee setup.

moswell 5/9/2012, 9:07 am

I'm no master gardener (second year SFG), but I put my determinate tomatoes in pots to save on my limited SFG space. Then I just use a tomato cage to contain and support them. The indeterminates go in my SFG for trellising.

givvmistamps 5/9/2012, 1:55 pm

Okay, here's my 3-bamboo-pole teepee for a single determinate Heatmaster tomato plant (it was pretty badly damaged in the recent hailstorm so it looks pretty thin after I took off the damaged leaves):

How to grow determinite tomatoes 7165908390_996b49fce3

And here's a planter with two Roma tomatoes with a 5-bamboo-pole teepee. I put one pole at each corner, then one in the center going straight up to offer additional support (believe it or not, these needed a lot of pruning after the hailstorm too):

How to grow determinite tomatoes 7165928904_2ef5e79bbd

I do use some tomato twine to tie the tomato plant to the poles of the 3-pole support, and I use a variation on the Florida weave to hold my two Roma tomatoes to their supports.

Hoggar 5/9/2012, 2:18 pm

I had my Romas on my string trellis and just tied extra strings off of the main string it was on for each branch, then when they got as bushy as I wanted them, I kept them pruned the same way you would indeterminates.

**walshevak** 5/9/2012, 5:48 pm

I have cages set inside the buckets that have my determinate tomatos. I also put bricks in the bottom of the bucket for extra weight so they wouldn't blow over. (also takes up space so I don't waste my MM) We shall see how it works.

Kay

jakesebastin 6/25/2012, 1:54 pm

Tomato is one of my favorite plants. I had grown tomato in my indoor garden hydroponically and was giving good results and were bigger in size.

CapeCoddess 6/25/2012, 3:16 pm

jakesebastin wrote:Tomato is one of my favorite plants. I had grown tomato in my indoor garden hydroponically and was giving good results and were bigger in size.

When you grow hydroponically, do you have to add lots of nutrients to the water? Is the whole set up expensive?

CC

ramarks 6/25/2012, 3:46 pm

Thanks for the photos - that was a big help clarifying the descriptions.

**llama momma** 6/25/2012, 3:49 pm

Has anyone commented on the forum regarding Mel's tomato info on page 230 as follows -- bush tomato, one per 9 square feet??? Is this a typo? No wonder I was pruning the heck out of last year's poor Roma plant, I pruned it daily to keep it inside one and a half square feet! Shocked

CapeCoddess 6/25/2012, 3:59 pm

Sorry for laffing, llama momma...but the visual was priceless!

CC

landarch 6/25/2012, 4:42 pm

I think 9 per sf for a determinate is a little generous...I do four plants per 4x4 area under a horizontal trellis system...and I plant a little extra off to the side to take advantage of the wire mesh size (without having to cut it). This allows for easier picking, good air circulation, and I didn't have a lot of room on the ground make cages fit.

How to grow determinite tomatoes Horiz11

How to grow determinite tomatoes Horiz11

How to grow determinite tomatoes Horiz210

FamilyGardening 6/25/2012, 5:23 pm

landarch i like your trellis system for your tomato plants.....how does it work for harvesting?....is it pretty easy to get to the fruit?

hugs

rose

**llama momma** 6/25/2012, 5:29 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:

Sorry for laffing, llama momma...but the visual was priceless!

CC

Didn't know it would come out funny Very Happy

but I'm glad it did!
Shoot, guess my llama poop is not as magical as I thought.

landarch 6/25/2012, 7:05 pm

FamilyGardening wrote:landarch i like your trellis system for your tomato plants.....how does it work for harvesting?....is it pretty easy to get to the fruit?

hugs

rose

It works well because the openings are big and the layers of steel mesh are about 2' apart...last year I did cages with wire too small to get my hands in and tomatoes out...duh. Last year my determinates grew to about 5' tall...not sure if I have to add another mesh layer later in the summer or not.

CindiLou 6/25/2012, 11:52 pm

Determinates
I am trying 4 tomatoes per 2x6 using a weave. Seems to be working great so far!

How to grow determinite tomatoes Dscn0710

Indeterminates
I use the buckets and cages. They grow up and over and down each year!
This was just as they were planted.
How to grow determinite tomatoes Dscn0427

How to grow determinite tomatoes Dscn0427

Hoggar 8/28/2012, 11:12 am

I'm a little behind posting back but Ill throw in my two cents.

I grow my Tomatoes in an 8' X 2' box there are 16 plants in it
1 per sqft there inter mixed both indeterminate & determinate.
as I said before I use a string trellis and have had great success.

These are pictures of my current tomato box.

How to grow determinite tomatoes Aug-20-2012-6

How to grow determinite tomatoes Aug-20-2012-6

How to grow determinite tomatoes Aug-20-2012-3

**camprn** 8/28/2012, 5:34 pm

Hoggar love that overhead trellis system. I wish I had some power tools and that I was more handy working with wood.

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