Tomato Facts

These are the two types of growth habits of tomatoes.  Determinate plants grow to a known height, set one large crop of fruits and occasionally one smaller crop of fruit.  The plants need to be supported by one tomato stake or a small cage.  Typically these plants need no pruning or removal of sucker growth.  Indeterminate plants are constantly growing.  They begin to set fruit early, continue to grow and set an ongoing crop.  These plants often yield more fruit over a longer season.  They should be supported by multiple stakes or a large cage.  These plants need to be pruned and have the sucker growth removed, or they will become the Incredible Hulk of tomato plants.

Hybrid Tomatoes

Hybrid tomatoes are the typical grocery store tomato.  They are a round orange-ish fruit, often firm to the taste and touch. Familiar varieties include Big Beef or Better Boy.  They are valued for their bounty, uniformity, and disease resistance. It is a common misconception that all hybrid tomatoes are genetically modified. The scientific process used to achieve these fruits is through pollination breeding.  They are the offspring of four parents making them an F1 hybrid.   The flowers of these offspring tomato plants will accept pollen from any other tomato plant.  As such, if we planted the seeds from the resulting fruit we would have a mixture of many types and none true to the fruit from which the seed was harvested.  Seed for hybrid tomatoes must be purchased.  They are typically patented and the parents are the property of a larger corporation.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes have gained great popularity over the past years. They have been branded in the grocery store chains under such names as "Ugly Fruit".  The fruits are of varying texture, sweetness, size, color and shape.  They are valued for their diversity, beauty and “real” tomato taste. These fruits require no breeding to produce the seeds for them.  The term “open pollinated” is used commonly to describe the means by which the seed is grown.  The flowers of these tomato plants will only accept the pollen of the same variety plant.  Unlike a hybrid, when the seed from that fruit is planted, the resulting fruit is true to type.  This type of seed is easy to save and often done by some farmers.  These varieties are not patented and anyone is free to save and grow this seed.