Plant size question

[Joz]

Sorry for the boring question, but I've only found one answer online with no other corroboration. So I ask you, experienced tomato growers:

How big will Tommy Toes get? Any difference between the red and the yellow varieties?

I've got 12 varieties of tomatoes (and 5 of bell peppers) I'm trying to plant in containers on my balcony, and if TT is a smaller variety (that could maybe go in a 12" pot), then I'll save the half-barrel for larger varieties.

The one reference I found to size listed Tommy Toes as a 12"-18" plant. Google didn't yield any other sites with plant size info.

Thanks a bunch...

[Mantis]

Whoa back there Joz. That reference to 12 to 18 inches might refer to how much they grow a day LOL.
Seriously, TT grows huge and is a wildly prolific producer of largish cherries.
I crossed it with Nepal last year and I now have a wildly prolific plant with fruit about twice the size of TT's. I must have picked over a hundred fruit off it so far.
Cheers Mantis

[carolyn137]

Agree that it's a huge indeterminate plant.

For many years I assumed that Tommy Toes was an Australian variety, and my seeds were given to me from someone who got them in Australia.

But I now know it's a US heirloom.

I haven't grown the Yellow version, but was not all that impressed with the taste of the red Tommy Toes, as in there are several other cherries I'd grow before growing Tommy Toes again.

But your tastebuds may differ.

[Joz]

Precisely what I needed to know.

With only one reference to plant size, I knew I needed to find some further info to back it up. Especially since those have been my tallest and fastest growing seedlings (tho I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or no).

I see I should have posted my entire list for size and habit information. At this point, everything has been transplanted into its final pots, and I'll just have to see how it goes.

Thanks again.

[carolyn137]

Joz,

Rather than posting an entire list of varieties I urge you to look at the Tomato Growers website or catalog and the Victory Seed website or catalog and Heirloomseeds, for example, b'c those sites do have correct info on varieties and the most complete info.

For instance, had you gone to TGS you would have seen a picture of Tommy Toe as well as the description of it as indet.

Then for the ones you can't find info about, you can ask.

I've always suggested to everyone that they know what the variety traits are before they ever sow seed so that if a wrong leaf form appears they know they have a problem. And then if a wrong fruit shape or color appears they also know they have a problem.

Hope that helps.

[Joz]

Tomato Growers Supply listed Tommy Toes, but there was no plant size / habit information. Victory Seed didn't even appear to list TT at all (Looked in Tomatoes, and Small Fruited Tomatoes... their search function redirected me to some odd search engine that appeared unrelated to the site).

I'm disappointed in the information given by many seed sources re the size of the plants themselves. Understandably, the focus of the variety description is on the fruit rather than the plant. Often times the only plant description is limited to Determinate or Indeterminate, unless the variety is specifically known to be smaller (currant or dwarf varieties). I just wish that the plant size was a part of the typical info given. Ah well.

I have no idea how tall my Green Zebra plants will get, nor precisely how large the Green Grapes will be. Rather than looking up the seeds on various suppliers' websites, I've merely Googled the varieties, and looked at each returned site to see what the info is. I'm frankly surprised that there's such a discrepancy between the experience here and the size listed on the only website that indicated any plant size (davesgarden.com).

That's the only website I've seen, actually, that lists a plant size for every variety on my list. And, it's been rather discredited. Hrm.

Anyway. I think that no matter the end size, I've given each of my plants enough room (I hope), and again, I'll just see how things go. I'll just be lucky if I don't get run out of town again by another hurricane just as my plants start setting fruit.

I am keeping track, so if I've mucked it up this year, I'll just figure it out properly for next season (or a fall planting... Gawd I love living in the subtropics).

Thanks all for the discussion.... I appreciate having a large group of folks to chat with about tomatoes, as my partner couldn't care less (although he does let me play in the dirt as much as I want).

[carolyn137]

Joz,

When you see that a variety is described as determinate or indeterminate or dwarf, it does tell you what the plant habit is as well as the potential for tallness.

After growing about 2000 different varieties I couldn't tell you how tall the determinates or indeterminates were since I grow my plants by sprawling.

And even the height of specific varieties is going to vary widely depending on exactly how and where, geographically, someone is growing, as well as fertilizers used, rain/irrigation, etc. so I wouldn't expect to find any useful data from seed catalogs on height, nor would I take as gospel what anyone here says, just b'c of all the variables.

Some seed companies grow what they offer and give that data which is specific only to how they grew them and where they grew them and what that season was like, while others take data from the various listings in the SSE Yearbooks and that data varies widely, again, depending on all the variables I've mentioned.

YOu aren't going to find all varieties in one place, re your comment about not finding Tommy Toes at Victory Seeds. There are many many different seed companies and I mentioned only a few b'c I trust what they say.

So I do think that if you see det and indet and dwarf mentioned, you know that the greatest potential for tallness is with the indet, then det would be less tall and dwarfs the least tall.

I don't know if that helps, but I sure hope so.