Semi-Determinate Tomatoes

The growth habit of semi-determinate tomatoes is somewhere between the true determinate and true indeterminate tomatoes. Most semi-determinate varieties are technically indeterminate plants that act bushy due to their shorter vines. However the category may include some determinate varieties that grow tall enough to require more support. There are also plants in this category that produce several determinate spurts of ripe fruit indeterminately. In other words, habits that are hard to classify.

* 3-4 ft tall plants

* Good balance of plant size and yield for outdoor growing

* Need trellising or cages, but do not grow out of control

* Pruning suckers is optional

We use a type of Florida weave to support our semi-determinate tomatoes. The materials needed include metal t-posts or wood stakes and bailing twine. We minimally prune our semi-determinate tomatoes, only removing the first few suckers to allow for better airflow under the plants.

Other tomato growth habits include: Dwarf, Determinate, and Indeterminate.

We know that classifying tomato growth habits in ways other than simply indeterminate and determinate is surprisingly controversial. We do this primarily for the convenience of predicting what growing method would be best. It is true that tomatoes are technically either determinate or indeterminate. ;-)