More tomatoes

Tomatoes; how many will each plant produce? How long does their growing season last? To answer these questions, start by determining whether your variety is indeterminate or determinate. Most of the varieties I planted are indeterminate, meaning they will continue to flower and produce fruits until the local growing season has ended with frost. They grow six feet on average, requiring support by either caging or staking. Continue tying-up growing stalks to support their weight. The earlier they get planted, the earlier they mature, the more tomatoes you can harvest.

My tomatoes: Brandywine, a pink heirloom variety and Cherokee, a purple heirloom are both indeterminate, should begin ripening within 3 weeks; I suspect it may take longer for Cherokee. Sun Gold and Sweet Million are both hybrids, indeterminate, and already producing. Jubilee, indeterminate, expected within 4 weeks. Grape tomatoes are indeterminate; they are already producing. Roma, my only determinate plant, can be expected within 3 weeks. Determinate plants ripen entirely within a few weeks time before going dormant; they produce fruit quickly then stop. I remove the suckers from the bushy tomato plants; these are green leaves with no flowers that suck nutrients away from the fruit producing leaves; not always recommended for determinate varieties.

Put the leaves along with any other garden debris into a compost pile. If you don’t have time, energy, or space for composting, there are two bins located at the community garden that will happily accept your scraps. Be sure to leave out all animal products, oils, newspaper ads, and construction paper.