If growing a tomato plant at home, you will have two choices of how to start, either from a tomato seed or a seedling. Both ways of starting though will produce the same great results of tomatoes full of flavour.

In the United States the tomato has quickly become one of the most popular summer fruit or vegetables. An important part of any garden, the tomato plant can provide fruit that are tasty and healthy, and full of vitamins and minerals.

Tomatoes are a native product of South and Central America, where traditionally they have been grown for many seasons, in the United States though tomatoes are grown as annuals. There is a great deal of difference as to how the plants are grown in the United States.

In the warmer southern states it is possible to grow successful plants straight from seeds sown in the ground. In the cooler north it is advisable that the seeds are grown first in trays indoors. Indoor growing, for up to two and half months, will give the plants a healthy start and avoid the possibility of a sudden frost. Once these seedlings have grown to an acceptable size they can then be transplanted to an outside location.

It is of course not necessary to grow your own seedlings, as garden centers will stock a range of seedlings. It is important that the transplantation of seedlings, either store brought or hoe grown, is not done until the overnight temperature is above 50F. If your region is susceptible to overnight frosts it is important also that you can protect the tomato plants from this danger.

The choice of seeds and seedlings fall into two main types; determinate tomatoes vs. Indeterminate Tomatoes. These two varieties of tomatoes will be reviewed below.

Determinate Tomatoes

These tomatoes are bush plants ideal for container growing, taking up less space and needing less support once grown. All tomatoes like slightly acidic soil from pH6.0-pH7.0, and soil can be assisted with organic compost if required. Determinate tomatoes have an advantage as well in that all of the tomatoes grown from a single plant will ripen at the same time.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

These tomatoes are grown from vines rather than a bush. These vine tomato plants will also continue to be produce fruit throughout the growing season, allowing you to eat fresh tomatoes throughout the summer.

Vine tomatoes can be left to their own devices, where you will find that they spread out over the available ground. This can cause more tomatoes to rot, as the fruit will be closer to the ground. The sprawling nature of the plant can also make it more difficult to pick the ripe fruit. To control this sprawl it is normal for gardeners to make a support system from such things as wire cages. Wire cages also have a benefit of coming in types with a mesh large enough to put your hand through to harvest the tomatoes.