Growing tomatoes takes full sun, steady water, rich soil, and something for the plant to climb. Set plants outdoors after your last spring frost, in a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, and 8 or more if you can. Most varieties start ripening 65 to 90 days after transplanting. Beyond that, they ask for little.
This guide covers the basics every tomato grower needs first: how to tell the main plant types apart, what healthy leaves and flowers look like, how much fruit one plant gives, and whether to buy seedlings or start from seed. Start with the plant type. It shapes every choice after it, and each later stage, from planting to harvest, has its own guide linked below.
TLDR:
- Indeterminate tomatoes vine to 6 feet or more and fruit until frost. Determinate tomatoes stop at 3 to 4 feet and ripen most of their crop within a few weeks, which suits pots and canning.
- Tomato flowers pollinate themselves, so one plant is enough to get fruit. Blossoms often drop without setting fruit when days top 90°F or nights fall below 55°F.
- A tomato is a fruit to a botanist and a vegetable to a cook. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled it a vegetable for tariff purposes in 1893.
- A full-sized indeterminate plant gives at least 15 to 20 tomatoes, and up to 50 or 60 in a long, good season.
- Buy seedlings with V, F, N, or T on the label for built-in disease resistance, or start from seed for far more varieties.
Why Tomatoes Are the Most Popular Vegetable to Grow at Home
Of all vegetables grown in residential backyards, tomatoes are the most popular. Perhaps it is because only vine ripened tomatoes have the richest flavor and tenderest skin, or maybe it is because they are the mainstay of so many wonderful recipes. Certainly it is because they are also so satisfying to grow. Tomato plants grow in small spaces, bear abundant fruit over 3 or 4 months, and require very little maintenance.
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A warm season vegetable that originated in Mexico and Central America, the tomato comes in a bewildering array of sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors. Tomatoes are packed with nutrients as well, a typical fruit supplying more than 25% of daily needs for vitamins C, K, and A, along with over 1 gram of dietary fiber. A vegetable superstar today, the tomato was commonly thought to be poisonous to eat as recently as 1900.
Determinate vs. Indeterminate Tomato Plants: How Big Each Type Grows
Indeterminate plants, the most common, typically reach a height of 6 feet or more. Vine-like, they grow and bear fruit continuously until they are killed by frost. Stems need support as they grow heavy with fruit. See the file on Vertical Gardening for tips of supports for tomatoes.
Determinate tomato plants grow to a more limited size – not much more than 3 to 4 feet tall. They stop growing when they mature to the point where they set fruit at the tip of their main stem. Ideal for containers and small spaces, determinates grow more compactly, so they can be planted closer together.
When comparing determinate vs. indeterminate tomatoes, the key difference is what happens at the tip of the main stem. A determinate tomato is a bush type whose stems end in a flower cluster, so the plant stops growing at a set height. An indeterminate tomato keeps adding new leaves and flowers at the tip all season. Semi-determinate types sit in between. They stay around 4 to 5 feet but keep producing longer than a true determinate.
To tell which type you have, check the plant tag or seed packet for "determinate" or "indeterminate," sometimes shortened to DET or IND. Lost the label? Look at the top of the main stem in midsummer. If it ends in a flower cluster, the plant is determinate. 'Roma' is a common determinate. 'Brandywine', 'Cherokee Purple', and 'Sungold' are indeterminate.
What Tomato Plant Leaves Look Like
Tomato foliage is medium green. Leaves are actually rows of 3 or 4 deeply lobed leaflets growing on each side and the tip of thin stems that branch alternately from the main stem. New dwarf types of tomatoes have crinkled, dark green leaves. Changes in leaf color signal nutritional, pest and disease problems.
How a Tomato Flower Turns Into Fruit
About 2 or 3 weeks after transplanting outdoors, seedlings develop small yellow flowers which become tiny green tomatoes in a week or two. On indeterminate plants fruit forms in clusters at intervals along the main stems. On determinate plants it forms in clusters on tips of lateral stems and it usually ripens faster, making determinate types ideal for areas with short growing seasons. Depending on the tomato variety, fruits may be anywhere from 2 pounds to 1 ounce. They may be pink, yellow, orange, or even green. Their various shapes--plum, round, pear, oval and cherry--are suitable for numerous uses.
Each tomato blossom is small, yellow, and star-shaped. Blossoms grow in clusters called trusses. Tomato plant flowers hold both male and female parts, so each one pollinates itself. You only need one plant to get fruit. Wind, a light shake of the stem, or a visiting bumblebee is enough to release the pollen.
Temperature is the usual reason flowers fall off without making fruit. Blossoms often drop when days run above 90°F, or when nights fall below 55°F or stay above 75°F. New flowers form once the weather settles. After a flower is pollinated, the fruit usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks to ripen.
Is a Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable?
A tomato is a fruit to a botanist and a vegetable to a cook. Botanically, it is a berry, because it grows from the plant's flower and holds the seeds. In 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Nix v. Hedden that tomatoes count as vegetables for import tariffs. The reason was simple. People serve them with the main meal, not as dessert. Gardeners plant them in the vegetable bed for the same reason.
Why are tomatoes a fruit and not a vegetable? It comes down to which part of the plant you eat. A fruit grows from a flower and carries the plant's seeds. The word "vegetable" has no botanical definition. It usually means an edible leaf, root, or stem. By that rule, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and eggplants are fruits too. Lettuce, carrots, and celery are true vegetables.
How Many Tomatoes One Plant Produces
Full-sized indeterminate plants typically produce a minimum of 15 to 20 tomatoes. Over a long season of good weather the yield may be as great as 50 or 60 per plant. Typically, 2 plants per adult and 1 per child supplies a family’s eating and cooking needs for the season. If you’re thinking of canning, then add more plants. For example, plant 2 to 6 extra plants for canning purposes for a family of four.
How to Choose Healthy Tomato Seedlings
It’s easiest to plant professionally raised tomato seedlings from the garden center. They are available in your area about the time it is safe to plant them outdoors. Choose seedlings with perky, rich green foliage and thick, sturdy stems. Avoid plants that already have flowers, as they are likely to be suffering stress. Make sure there are no woody patches on the main stem which may indicate that seedlings were overwatered or overfertilized in the greenhouse.
Seedlings come in market packs of 6 or 12 or in individual, somewhat larger pots. While slightly more expensive, potted tomato seedlings are likely to have more developed root systems--an advantage at planting time. Keep seedlings moist until transplanting time.
Although some venerable old-time favorite varieties are still available, the emphasis for seedlings is on hybrids, bred for disease resistance. Check plant labels for the initials V, F, N, and T after their variety name. They indicate that plants are resistant to common tomato diseases such as Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, Nematodes and Tobacco mosaic.
Why Grow Tomatoes From Seed Instead of Buying Seedlings
If you grow seedlings directly from seed, you’ll have a much larger choice of tomato varieties and more control of the timing of your planting. Recent research shows that transplants grown from seed can be set out in the garden when they’re anywhere from 2 to 13 weeks old.
An overwhelming number of tomato varieties, both old-time favorites and modern hybrids, are available as seed. Look for the initials V, F, N, and T after their variety name on the seed packet--for example, ‘Roma VFN.’ They indicate inherent resistance to common tomato problems such as Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, Nematodes and Tobacco mosaic. Choose tomato varieties recommended for your climate or zone. Finally, select for preferred color, size and intended use (slicing, salads, sauces, garnishes, canning).
