Indeterminate vs. Determinate Tomato Plants

Indeterminate tomato plants tend to make vines; determinate varieties tend to make bushes.

Indeterminate tomato plants tend to ripen their fruit a few at a time all during the growing season. Determinate tomatoes tend to ripen their fruit all at the same time, or nearly so.

In the video below, Marjory Wildcraft explains the difference and why it matters when you are deciding which type to grow.

What is a Tomato Plant Sucker?

A tomato plant "sucker" is just a side branching stem on the tomato plant that is growing between a leaf and the main stem. They are usually removed on indeterminate-type tomato plants to direct more of the plant's energy to the main stem and the fruit.

In the video below, gardener Gary Pilarchik will show you in about one minute how to identify suckers on an  indeterminate-type tomato plant.

Free Tomato Plants: How to Root Tomato Plant Suckers in Water

Gardener Gary Pilarchik quickly shows the simplest method for cloning tomato plants using plant suckers and a glass of water:




What is a tomato plant "sucker?"

Clone tomato plants using grow plugs.

Clone tomato plants using rockwool cubes.

Free Tomato Plants: How to Root Tomato Suckers Using Rockwool Cubes

Rockwool cubes are similar to grow plugs and make rooting tomato plant suckers easy. Rooting suckers creates a "clone" of the mother plant.




In the video, Youtuber "Sleestaksrule" shows how he performs rooting magic with rockwool cubes. The procedure is the same whether you are growing in containers with soil, directly in the ground, or hydroponically.

How to root tomato suckers with grow plugs.

How to root tomato suckers in water.

What is a tomato plant sucker?

Free Tomato Plants: How to Root Tomato Plants from Suckers Using Grow Plugs

Yes, you can just stick the freshly cut suckers into a jar of water and they will form roots, but here's a more "foolproof" method from "mhpgardener," a very popular Youtuber:

What the heck is a tomato plant "sucker?"



See how to root tomato suckers in water.

See how to root tomato suckers using Rockwool Cubes.