Two types of tomoatoes

PLOW & HOSE ORGANIC GARDENING IN CENTRAL TEXAS | Julie Rydell

After a mild close to 2023, Mother Nature delivered the first hard freeze of the new year. December was quite green with the warm temperatures and gentle rains, but the recent freeze reminded us it is actually winter in Central Texas.

While backyard gardening is uninspiring at the moment, it is a great time to stay indoors and plan for spring planting. In the vegetable beds, tomatoes tend to be the most coveted crop.

With more than 10,000 of identified varieties across the globe, tomatoes continue to be a favorite plant with Texas gardeners.

Tomatoes are heat-loving plants that grow well and quickly in Central Texas.

They aren’t without their challenges, but you can minimize issues and increase yields with a little extra attention during the growing season.

Selecting varieties and understanding their growth habits will help you achieve a better harvest. Decide what type of fruit you would like to grow, then learn about their growing style and how many days to expect until the fruits are ready for harvest.

Tomatoes will be one of two types, determinate or indeterminate. These are terms that describe how the tomato plants will grow, either as a vine or as a bush. Determinate tomato varieties are also called “bush” tomatoes because they are fairly compact and only get to be about four feet tall.

Once they grow to this size, they will stop growing and start setting lots of flowers.

They have one primary flush of fruits before going dormant. Determinate tomatoes tend to be early producers so you can harvest lots of tomatoes fairly quickly into the growing season. Since they are smaller plants, they are better for container gardens and don’t require extra support, but stakes and cages will help keep the fruits off the ground.

Determinate tomatoes put all their energy into making flowers and fruits so that you get one abundant crop.

A simple way to remember this term is that bush varieties are determined to make tomatoes.

Vining varieties are called indeterminate.

Their stems continuously grow through the summer until the first frost.

Indeterminate tomatoes produce flowers and fruits all throughout the growing season. Vines can grow 10 to 15 feet long and require large cages or stakes to keep them upright and prevent them from breaking from their own weight.

Heirloom or heritage tomatoes tend to be vining, indeterminate varieties.

Hybrids and improved varieties are often bushy determinate plants.

Large fruits will take longer to mature and take 70 to 80 days before they are ready to harvest. It will be very important to plant these late maturing tomatoes as soon as possible so that they have time to grow, flower, set fruit and ripen before the worst of the summer heat. Most plants struggle to flower when nighttime temperatures exceed 75 degrees. The brutal heat also causes pollen to degrade which impacts successful pollination.

Smaller tomatoes typically mature quickly. Small cherry and grape tomatoes are ready to pick in 45 days.

Salad tomatoes are a bit larger but many can be harvested after 60 days.

For our part of Central Texas, March 5th marks the end of freezing temperatures when it’s generally safe to transplant warm season crops outside. If you will be starting seeds inside, give yourself six weeks to grow tomato seedlings before transplanting to their permanent home outside.

Mid-January is the perfect time to start seeds inside.

Smaller tomatoes usually put out lots of fruits and are good choices to plant if you are unable to transplant until the end of the planting window, which closes for tomatoes in late April.

Those short season tomatoes are also good to plant for a fall crop if you want to extend your growing season for a fall harvest.

Try growing both types of tomatoes. Grow determinate varieties for larger harvests to freeze or can as sauces.

Plant indeterminate types so you can enjoy fresh tomatoes throughout the growing season.

With 25 years of backyard gardening experience, Julie is a plant and nature enthusiast. She lives in Taylor and hosts the “Plow & Hose Organic Gardening in Central Texas” podcast.