Indeterminate tomatoes need lots of room to spread or force them to grow upright on a trellis or cage so they use less space.

Sweet 100 and Hawaiian Tropic are indeterminate tomatoes, which means their vines get long, producing flowers and fruit on longer and longer vines during the growing season.

Remove about one-third of the plant and leave plenty of leaves to reduce sunburn. This type of pruning opens the interior of the plant to intense sunlight, causing sunburn and the plants die. Many people who try pruning them back in the summer fail because the vines are pruned too severely. Either pull the tomato plants when they’re done producing and plant new ones from seed, or prune the old ones back and let them flower and fruit again when it’s cooler. Harvest fruit from them when it’s hot, but they won’t set fruit again from new growth until the temperature drops back into the mid-90s. Should I cut them back or continue to let them roam?Ī: Tomato plants stop setting fruit when daytime air temperatures are in the mid-90s or above. I think they’re Sweet 100, but there may be a Hawaiian plant in there somewhere. Q: My tomato plants are growing nicely, but some are getting very long vines. Tomato plants stop setting fruit when daytime air temperatures are in the mid-90s or above.

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