identifying tomato plants

June 16, 2009 8:02 PM

can anyone tell me if there's a way to tell the difference between a determinate vs an indeterminate tomato plant as a seedling? my 3 year old pulled out all of my markers before the seeds had sprouted. i don't want to prune the determinate plants by accident!
posted by cvilleluke to home & garden (4 comments total)

No, not really as seedlings. But it's cool. You know, let the plants sprout etc. The determinate ones will give you yellow blossoms in numbers and sit and set fruit. The indetermitate ones will keep going up. Time will tell.
posted by longsleeves at 8:36 PM on June 16, 2009

My indeterminate plants got taller than my determinate ones long before either began to flower, so you may be able to tell them apart that way before too long. I think I could tell mine apart by the height once the taller ones were about 6in/15cm tall. I guess the difference will vary with different varieties of plant, but it's something to look out for.
posted by benign at 9:15 PM on June 16, 2009

thank you both. i kinda figured there was not a clear cut way to tell. the thing is, i started these guys a little later than i should have or intended too. i don't want to wait until august for a tomato, so i went ahead and have already bought and planted a few other seedlings from a nursery. there's only space left in my little yard garden for a few more plants, or i would just put them all in the ground and happily figure it out in a month. out of six heirloom varieties i started myself the only stand-out is the brandywine with its potato leaves. luckily for me that's my favorite. they're about 4in tall now and seem to be really starting to grow.
posted by cvilleluke at 9:40 PM on June 16, 2009

it seems that, in fact, some varieties (including the brandywine and another that I think is a "black" tomato because it has dark veins) are outpacing the others a few weeks later. i think benign was right.
posted by cvilleluke at 9:44 PM on July 2, 2009