Plant Sale 2025 – Tomatoes 101: Indeterminate vs. Determinate

You’re trying to pick out the best tomato plant and see the words “indeterminate” and “determinate” with every description of a tomato… but you’re not sure what that means.

Indeterminate tomatoes keep flowering and producing fruit throughout the growing season. Generally, they become very tall (6-8 ft or taller) and need staking or cages for support.

Determinate tomatoes ripen over a shorter period and grow to about four (4) feet tall, so they take up less garden space and make great container plants. Many (but not all) sauce tomatoes, like Roma & Plum Regal, are determinate.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule!

You may see “semi-determinate” (e.g., Marzano Fire & Moskvich) which means you get longer production from it than a determinate but more restrained growth than an indeterminate. Then there are “compact indeterminate” or “dwarf indeterminate” (Berkley Tie Dye & Husky Red) – both will be smaller than indeterminate but have the same characteristics.

What can you expect at the Spring Plant Sale? We will have indeterminate varieties such as Cipolla’s Pride & San Marzano (remember these are great for sauces) and determinate varieties we’ll be offering (remember these are good for pots & patios) are Bush All Star, Bush Early Girls, Celebrity, Tumbling Tom & Micro Tom.

As always, evaluate your space (containers vs garden beds, how much room do the plants have to mature, etc.) and research the best plant option for your needs. Want to learn more about growing tomatoes? Check out this article, Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden.

Solanum lycopersicum Big Beef (indeterminate)
Photo credit University of MN – Growing tomatoes in home gardens

Solanum lycopersicum Window Box Roma (determinate)
Photo credit University of MN – Growing tomatoes in home gardens