Determinate Vs Indeterminate Tomato Plants: Here's The Actual Difference

The terms "determinate" and "indeterminate" describe the growth habits of a tomato plant. While determinate tomato plants will stop growing once they grow to about 3 or 4 feet in size, indeterminate varieties will keep growing, reaching lengths of up to 12 feet. Additionally, determinate varieties tend to take on a bush shape and indeterminate varieties take the form of winding vines. These growth characteristics result in different care requirements. While determinate tomato plants usually only need a cage or stake to support vertical growth in the face of wind and rain, indeterminate tomato plants rely more heavily on tall supports, like a trellis or large stake or cage.

Noticing how new stems continuously branch off from the older shoots of an indeterminate tomato plant, gardeners may choose to prune the plant. When an indeterminate tomato plant is pruned, the plant is able to divert more energy to producing larger fruit along each branch. By both pruning the vines and training them to grow away from the ground, the plant is also less likely to become diseased. In contrast, determinate tomato plants need little to no pruning. In fact, you should only ever prune diseased and damaged leaves or branches that are growing too close to the ground — so try not to cut off any yellow tomato leaves without figuring out what the tomato plant is going through first.

Many gardeners will choose to reap the benefits of both varieties by growing both determinate and indeterminate tomato plants, space permitting. Determinate varieties, for example, grow their fruit for the season all at once. This growth pattern ensures one larger, fruitful harvest ideal for canning, creating pasta or pizza sauce, or freezing. 

Indeterminate tomato plants, on the other hand, are usually harvested in smaller yields throughout the growing season instead of all in one batch. The unique growth habits of indeterminate tomato plants means that there is usually a ripe tomato ready to be added to a spontaneous tomato sandwich with furikake and other dishes that benefit from a fresh tomato or two. Indeterminate tomato plants do not yield tomatoes forever, though; frost will eventually kill the plant altogether once the growing season is over. Growing both varieties of tomato plants opens more doors for culinary endeavors that require fresh tomatoes.