Determinate and indeterminate. Determinates grow to a certain size, put out a flush of fruit, and then more or less die off. Indeterminates just keep on growing and fruiting until they're frozen - the ancestral specie includes biennial and perennial populations - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_pimpinellifolium ... if you're interested in more detail, https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/125/11/1979/39820/The-SELF-PRUNING-gene-of-tomato-regulates - the SP gene is one of two recessive alleles which generally disappears if an F1 plant is allowed to set seed. Determinate varieties are bred with field cultivation and shipping (thicker shins) in mind - one of the innovations that lead to Heinz flourishing was the development of a determinate tomato that would crop reliably in the northern states; they are still leaders in breeding for industrial processing - https://www.heinzseed.com
Most of the beefsteak and other heirloom varieties are indeterminate or will be at F2. You wrap the green tomatoes in newspaper (to keep them from dehydrating) and keep them in a box with an apple. Or there are bazillions of recipes for using up the green tomatoes (fried, chutney, relish, jam, pies, salsa, etc etc). One might choose deliberately to grow indeterminate varieties because they are generally more delicious.
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Date: 2023-Oct-21, Saturday 06:11 pm (UTC)Most of the beefsteak and other heirloom varieties are indeterminate or will be at F2. You wrap the green tomatoes in newspaper (to keep them from dehydrating) and keep them in a box with an apple. Or there are bazillions of recipes for using up the green tomatoes (fried, chutney, relish, jam, pies, salsa, etc etc). One might choose deliberately to grow indeterminate varieties because they are generally more delicious.