Determinate vs Indeterminate?

Determinate tomatoes do not grow tall, and they have a pre-determined growth cycle, generally with a harvest period of 1-2 months. They are close to the ground, and should be staked up to keep the fruit off the ground. If you don't want lots of tomatoes over the entire growing season and/or if you don't want to expend effort in caring for your plants, then determinate is your choice.

Indeterminate plants will continue to grow longer and longer, taller and taller, until frost kills them. For maximum yield in a given space we recommend growing them vertically by staking or guiding up a string using T-Frames. This requires some cost and effort in pruning, but the result is a thing of beauty, and your yield of healthy fruit is magnified greatly. Pictures on the MittleiderMethodGardening@yahoogroups.com group website include indeterminate tomatoes grown in outside as well as in a greenhouse.