Okay everybody, as this seems to be our tomato growing thread, I have a question about determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. I know that you are supposed to sucker one of them but not the other. Which is which? When do I start doing this? How much do I sucker? I have 6 different tomato types this year....I suppose I need to research which is which, or is there an easy way to tell? And, does any one know if Litchi Tomatoes are determinate or indeterminate? BTW, GP count me in on this huge communal vegie farm! I am great at lugging water.
Cayuga, you and I will "lug" the water. I have very long arms from years of "lugging" water. My best suggestion is to google the questions of determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. I have read far too much to remember which is which. I did discover that almost all of our's are indeterminate. Litchi isn't a tomato I'm familiar with. I remember to clip lower branches from determinate type and clip lower suckers, but leave the upper ones, just snipping the tip off.
Indeterminate refers to the so-called "cordon" tomato sorts. These ate the types of tom plants that I sucker. They grow tall and eventually have naked stems from the pruning and sucker removal. Determinate, refers to the so-called "bush" tomatos. These do not need to be rigorously suckered. Some years I do not sucker them at all, other years (like this year) they get suckered a bit. Is this clear, GP? If not let me know and I will try and be more clear with you.
CM... I accidentally suckered a whole row of determinates last year... OOPS! big time. I had hardly any crop from the first growth. I had them in the high tunnel and once I picked those tomatoes they grew and set a second LOVELY crop of tomatoes. I have determined... not to sucked determinates again. oops! it isn't such a good idea for a crop. BUT I did it again this year on a new variety already not realizing it was a determinate, too. oyvey!
Sjoerd, you are confirming my thought: "I'd better research what kind of tomatoes I have before I touch them!". I am assuming if I google the type of tomato, it will tell me if it is determinate or indeterminate. So I too am determined to research this determinate vs indeterminate tomato situation!
YES! YES! YES! you are all cordially invited to live here. everyone works to keep the house clean, the gardening done and cook on a rotation and no one needs to lug water. I have hydrants, hoses and drip tape...
Good idea, Cay. I hope that you can find that out quickly. If not I can help you by looking over here on the dutch sites.
Oh Carolyn, do not put temptation in my garden path. I would gladly lug water in order to avoid cooking. Anyone ready to trade? Sjoerd, I just quickly google and either lope off or not.
I will gladly trade with you Growingpains. I have a batch of tomatoes soon to be transferred into the bed which I only know that they are cherry type.
LOL Sjoerd, my spelling may be way wrong. I think I meant cut off. KK, you're on. You cook. I lug water.
