I am new to gardening. I’ve seen the term “indeterminate” listed while going through the tomato categories. What exactly does that mean?
“Determinate” is a plant growth habit in which stems stop growing at a certain height and produce a flower cluster at the tip. Determinate tomatoes, for example, are short, early-fruiting, have concentrated fruit set, and do not require staking. These are the types you should grow if you want to harvest your main crop all at once for canning, drying, or freezing.
“Indeterminate” is a plant growth habit in which stems keep growing in length indefinitely. For example, indeterminate tomatoes are tall, late-fruiting, and require staking for improved yield. These are the types you should grow if you want to harvest fresh tomatoes over a long season.
Here are some determinate tomato varieties: Heatwave II, Medina, Red Satin, Celebrity, Super Tasty, Sweet Tangerine, Ensalada, Viva Italia, Patio Hybrid and Bush Early Girl.
Here are some indeterminate tomato varieties: Early Pick, Early Girl, Better Boy, Big Beef, Big Boy, Big Girl, Bush Big Boy, Brandywine, Super Steak, Delicious, Red October, Winter Red, Juliet, Sungold, Gardener’s Delight, Super Sweet 100 and Sugar Snack.
My neighbor has a rain barrel. What do I need to do to get one?
You can either make one yourself or buy one. There are several styles available at local home improvement stores. If you’d like to make one, the Watershed Stewards Program has good information on its website that gives instructions for a do-it-yourself project and they also offer workshops where they can help you build your own rain barrel. You can visit their website at http://clark.wsu.edu/volunteer/ws/index.html or call 360-397-6060, ext. 7703, for more information.
This Q&A is provided by Clark County Environmental Services and Celeste Lindsay, a WSU Master Gardener. Send questions to sally. fisher@clark.wa.gov or lindsay8@pacifier.com.
