Determinate vs Indeterminate Plants

Here's a link that I found to some good information on what a determinate plant is vs an indeterminate one.  You see this designation most often with tomatoes.  In a nutshell a determinate plant will bear its yield all at once, and then it's pretty much done.  An indeterminate plant will grow and fruit right up until a frost kills it.  Because an indeterminate plant tends to continue growing, it usually needs more support, like cages or trellises, than a determinate one.
I tend to be an indeterminate lover, since I plant in large beds, and value a long, drawn out yield. We have a long growing season here in Texas, and indeterminate varieties allow us to harvest fruits for a very long time before frost comes our way.  In my New England days I planted tomatoes in large containers, and found determinate varieties to be more manageable for that scenario, both for the less rangy growth and the heavy yield in an area with a shorter growing season.  Determinates may also be preferred if you're a canner, since you'll want a large amount of yield to work with at one time.  There's also no reason why you can't choose both.  You'll end up with a large harvest of one kind all at once, while the indeterminates continue to perform for you until you or icy weather choose to end the long run.
Click through to the link for further details, and don't ever be shy to send us your questions!

Happy Gardening!

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/vegetablesherbs/f/tomatotypefaq.htm

Quick Tips: Planting Store Bought Tomato Plants

So your tomato seedlings failed.  Maybe they got too leggy and laid over in the wind or burned to a crisp in the Texoma sun.  I'm very sorry.  It's so disappointing when you lose new plants, especially if they were of a specialty type.

But not to worry!  These things happen.  You can still have tomatoes in your garden.  Head on over to your local nursery or home repair warehouse, and pick you a few tomato plants.  Yes, I know it's late in the season, but the stores still have them.  Once you get them home, you'll need to get them into the ground quickly, so they can root in and get to growing.  Here are a few quick tips on that:



1.  Use the good soil.  Do not plant these guys in our black gumbo, or even the sandier soil that we find in Texoma.  The gumbo is a super sticky root choker, and the sandy loam is like concrete when it's dry.  I'd recommend a raised bed, especially if you're in a black gumbo area like me.  If you've got sandy loam, then you can mix some of that into your garden soil, but go easy.  Remember:  concrete.  I personally use compost mixed with a little sandy loam.  You can outsource these from places like Texas Pure Products or buy them by the bag in stores.  You want uncompacted, well-draining, nutrient rich soil for hungry tomatoes.  You can also grow tomatoes in a pot.  Just make sure the pot is big enough to fit plant and cage, and be aware that it may require more watering than a garden bed.   

2.  Bury those babies.  You want a good root system working for your plants, so go ahead and bury them until just a few of the topmost stems are out of the soil.  That means planting some of the green main stem in the soil.  Do it.  That buried stem will convert to root, and give your plant a good root system to feed lots of lovely tomatoes growing up top.  This will also ensure that the strong winds that come up on us suddenly don't snap your newly planted babies in half.  You probably know this already, but break off the bottom of those compostable cups before you plant. 



3.  Stake them early.  Tomatoes are a pain to get into a cage after they're grown out, so do yourself a favor, and cage them while they're small.  And do cage them, please.  You'll have less stem breakage once they're heavy with fruit if you take this step.  I once lost a whole 4 foot long branch worth of tomatoes from not caging a plant properly.  It split off in the wind before the blossoms (loads of blossoms) could fruit.  Never made that mistake again.



4.  Mulch.  That's right.  Get some mulch around the plants.  I know that seems weird to do in a vegetable bed.  We're accustomed to mulching flower beds, but tomato beds?  Sure!  Mulch serves several purposes, including keeping weeds down (spurgeweed and johnson grass, anyone?), holding moisture better in the soil underneath, and slowly providing nutrients to the soil as it composts in. 

5.  Water like crazy.  Last but not least, give them lots of water.  I've never known tomatoes to mind the heat much, but they need lots of water to do their thing.  Don't make mud of their soil bed, but don't let these guys run dry either.   



One of my tomato beds.  The PVC & mesh keep the cats out.

And those are the quick tips.  Feel free to send us a message if you need more detailed info, or are having a problem not covered by the above.  Happy gardening!