Tomatoes

Tomatoes can be divided into two types: determinates and indeterminates.

Indeterminates can grow and bear fruit throughout the whole summer season up till first frost or so. They grow like pseudo-vines, (I call them "pseudo" because they can't climb themselves.) so usually they seem some sort of support such as trellis or cage. They don't need to be pruned. Many cherry tomatoes are of this type.

Determinates tend to ripen their fruit all at once and then die. They are bushier and more compact. Can be trellised as well. There are conflicting accounts on whether these need to be pruned or not. Currently conducting an experiment right now. Will be reporting results.

As far as I know, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes are indeterminates, and romas are determinates. I've never planted determinates before, so what I wrote are simply what I read. I will update this with my experience at the end of the season.

Tomatoes are very versatile. Cherry and grape tomatoes are often eaten off the vine or in salads. Romas and other sauce tomatoes tend to have fewer seeds and more meat that when cooked, produce thicker sauces. The big ones such as beefsteak or celebrity are used more for general cooking or for slicing for sandwiches or hamburgers. However when cooked, they pretty much dissolve.

For my garden, I think it's a good idea to have a mixture of the three. Generally, two to three cherry or grape tomato plants are more than enough for one person to eat like a 6oz box a week. I know my mom has six cherry tomatoes plants (don't ask me why she planted that many when she self-professed that she hates small tomatoes), and they are producing enough tomatoes to fill a 16 oz box per day...if we bothered to pick them...which we don't...because it's too much work. So they languish on the vines. Oh well. This is my first year planting romas. I don't have enough experience yet with the other to advise on their yields.

Varieties of tomatoes that I planted this year:
Sweet 100 (cherry): high yield. Very sweet when ripened on the vines.
Beefsteak: not growing as big as I thought it would. Seems to need more water than others. Probably still need to tweak a few factors.
Roma: quite vigorous. Produces flowers and fruits rather easily.

Varieties of tomatoes I would like to try:
Celebrity (determinate): similar to beefsteak
Rosalita (grape tomato)
Sugary (grape tomato)
Momotaro: supposedly very good
Suncherry extra sweet (cherry)

I would definitely want to try different types of heirloom tomatoes each year and try to optimize yields for each variety.