Photo Credit: Getty Images. Contributor/Victor Drachev
When starting a tomato garden, whether you’re a pro or a beginner, can be a bit overwhelming. There are several types and groups of tomatoes to choose from. To help you get the best experience gardening we have a couple recommendations that’ll help you decide what to grow this summer.
Determinate: These types of tomatoes are best for containers because they grow in a bush. Instead of blooming as leaves their buds form flowers. Determinates grow 2-3 feet and flower and bloom together at the same time. If you do plant in a container it’s easier to overwater, so make sure to pay extra attention.
Pat recommends: Patio, Celebrity
Indeterminate: These tomatoes grow through a vine so you’ll want to use a stake or cage for support. They tend to produce larger quantities and ripen a little later than determinate. When planting the tomatoes you’ll want to plant a little deeper where just a couple inches of the plant sticks out. By having it deeper in the soil the plant will root along the stem and prevent blossom end rot. Tomatoes need a good amount of moisture to thrive this is why you need to water in the mornings and not in the hot afternoons.
Pat recommends: Jet Star, Better Boy (stay away from Early Girl and Big Boy)
Heirlooms: These groups of tomatoes are known for how big they get. They have tons of flavors with wide ranges and come from a true seed. The reason they are called “heirlooms” is because originally they were varieties of seeds passed down from gardener to gardener.
Pat recommends: Cherokee Purple, Brandywine
Listen to Pat Sullivan talk Tomatoes here!
The Home and Garden Show with Pat Sullivan and Denny Smith, Saturdays from 9a-1pm.
