Question on Tomatoes in Catalog

[SelfSufficientOne]

I got my catalog today. I really love looking through it and reading up on each variety and where they came from. What I am looking for though are determinate tomatoes, ones that don't need much staking and don't get too tall. I did find a few in the catalog but most don't say if they are determinate or indeterminate. Can you tell me which ones are determinate so that I can check them out. Thanks!

[scakya]

Hi,
Just a suggestion that might make things easier for you, but what types of tomatoes are you looking for? Paste, red, yellow, white, green, orange, black, early, mid season, late season, beefsteak, stuffing, grape, cherry, current, out of hand eating, drying, slicing, baking,juicing, etc. From my past experience, if it's not mentioned it's indeterminate, although Gere is usually pretty good about his descriptions.
Many of what are mentioned above are indeterminate by their nature, but some like paste and early will be mostly determinate. There are also new classes of patio type tomatoes that are also primarily determinate or short vining types and meant for container raising and small spaces.

Hope this helps,
scakya
another farmer working hard at self-sufficiency

[Bucks]

You are right about this and it is incredible that all companies do not list this. Sand Hill Preservation is another catalog that does a good job at labeling. Quite frankly I will not purchase tomatoes seeds unless they are labeled this way. I like the determinate as they are much easier to control and will stay pretty much inside of a cage. All of mine are pretty much determinate, but sometimes some of the other tomatoes offered are just too hard to pass up and I give in and plant them anyway!

[SelfSufficientOne]

Well, I don't have a certain type I am looking for, I wouldn't mind several different types but they just all have to be determinate. I agree, for me they are much easier to handle. I have tried a lot of indeterminate and I just don't have stakes or cages big enough to keep them and eventually they end up running all over the place.

[SelfSufficientOne]

Humm, guess I will email them.

[Marty Maraschino]

I'm kind of a newbie to gardening but thought I read somewhere that most heirlooms are indeterminate.

[lovetogarden]

http://www.containerseeds.com/products/veggies/tomatoes.html

Here is a site that sells tomatoes that require little or on staking. They are non GMO, but I do not believe they are heirlooms.

[GreenZone]

Most heirloom tomatoes ARE indeterminate. The ones I know of that aren't (that we sell) are:Patio Orange, Principe Borghese, Sub Arctic Plenty, and Tiny Tiger.

So sorry it took 6 days to answer your post, But we are gearing up for 2006 season, and I have to finish germ-testing, do the inventory, ordering etc. Generally if you want to be certain of a quick response, try e-mailing me at Solanums@ yahoo.com, or call.
--Randel

[Pharmerphil]

Principe Borghese, is a very good drying tomato, Others that I have tried were:
Nebraska Wedding and Banana Legs, the NB was a good yellow tomato, the Banana legs, were too small for my liking.
Next year, due to the cool summers I plan on trying Siberia, which is suppose to set maters, even at 39 degrees!
another I was told of that would take cool weather is Elberta Girl, but I don't even no if it's a red, yellow , or (hey, maybe they're) http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d62/ldickens/smilies/freezin.gifhttp://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d62/ldickens/smilies/freezin.gif Bluehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/Phlaura/cold2.gif http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y296/chobb/sast.gif

[SelfSufficientOne]

Well GreenZone you need to do a little research on your own catalog, I found even more that that in the catalog. Look for Siletz and Floradade, they say determinate.I do not see Sub Artic Plenty. What page is that on? I don't see it and would be interested in looking it over before I make a selection.
Thank PharmerPhil! I joined your Phorum and am really liking it!

[Pharmerphil]

Why (blushes) Thank You :)

[GreenZone]

Self sufficient one,
Could we just stipulate that I am imperfect,and chill a bit? Thanks for trying to bring me up to speed, tho. Subarctic is on p56, 3 entries above Siletz.

[SelfSufficientOne]

Oh I am not specifically trying to make you look bad, just think that if they are going to have someone here to represent the catalog and the company the answers should be pretty good. I love their catalog but I have trouble buying from a company who doesn't seem to know their product. Sub-arctic never says it is determinate and it is on the same page as Floridade!
Chill a bit? Oh yeah that is professional! I am sure I will buy from you now!

[JereGettle]

Hi All!
Jere Here, I am sorry SelfSufficientOne if you feel the questions were not answered correctly, but GreenZone is using all the info I left him and gathering info from his own growing of varieties. Not any one of us of the Baker Creek Staff are going to know all the answers on all 1000 varieties, if you have questions on a certain variety(s) please call or email as this is a public forum, not a discussion area about Baker Creek's policies, packet counts.

It was set up so gardener's can talk with gardener's. (including me if I have the time) but we (Baker Creek) will not answer all the posts due to time and costs.

This is a free service and I hope that gardener's will find it a good place to learn.

The reason most tomatoes are not stated is because I hate to say determinate and interdeterminate, as many will vary in height do to growing conditions, etc.
I have listed all the determinate varieties that are sure in the catalog, there are several other's that are kind of in the middle. This is a really a issue that is kind of fuzzy in the seed industry, even after growing 150+ tomato varieties there are many that I am unsure how to list. (If you notice it varies from catalog to catalog, just like the days to maturity) that is why I have not listed this info for all varieties.

That said we grow interdeterminate varieties when ever possible, as they are better flavored .... more leaves = more flavor!

And no, I do not personally grow all our varieties each year, (I wish I could) the goal here in preservation, so we use as many as 50 fine grower's to produce all the things we can't.

Sorry SelfSufficientOne I would have tried to answer sooner but I was on a seed collecting trip to Mexico.

Happy Holidays,
Jere

[SelfSufficientOne]

I know what you are thinking about me but I am actually beginning to understand. You don't actually grow what you describe or know how they will turn out. This is just an observation not a critisism. I do understand now. However I did expect that you would have someone on this forum who would actually know(or could find out about) the seeds you sell. I have to say that I thought if you had the site on your catalog it would mean a lot more than just a general gardening site. Frankly I felt you all were fairly good experts on heirloom seeds not just on how to sell the most heirloom seeds but I do understand how it works for you now. I do wish you all the best but don't think you can realistically answer my questions.Hopefully someone else on the forum can.

[JulieB]

What I know about some of Jere's tomatoes:

In my garden, under my conditions Ananas Noir was a huge, rambling plant -- one of the largest I've ever grown. The tomatoes were some of the best I've ever tasted and lots of them, but unless my seeds weren't true to type maybe it should be noticed that it's as big as some of the biggest -- easily into the climbing category. It overtopped my eight foot fence and we estimate it reached twelve feet. It was on the same fence as Cherokees and rambled all over them.

I'll be growing lots of them -- on a trellis on my barn, one I normally grow pumpkins on. With some fear; that's close to the chicken coop!

Does anyone know if there's a red, round shiny smooth tomato with good flavor and some cold tolerance that can produce like Ananas Noir?

My mom says there used to be a variety called Ketchup Kudzu -- that would be about perfect.

JulieB

[zebraman]

Hey Guys;To make matters worse EVERY OP Catalog list Purple and Red Calabash as Indet. Both or them are Det.I personally prefer Indet.and Stake them because Staked Tomatoes produce more per plant than Caged Tomatoes.I tie them with green velcro straps and these really Cool plastic ring clips that I bought from somewhere?once they grow past an 8-10 foot pole I let them grow where ever they want.By that time I've had more Tomatoes than I really want.

[jtcm05]

Red and Purple Calabash are not determinate vined plants. They are indeterminate.

SSO, try varieties like Silvery Fir Tree, Citron Compact, Golden Dwarf Champion, Lime Green Salad, Marglobe, Lucky Leprechaun, New Big Dwarf, Siletz and Taxi if you're looking for manageable plants.