The Average Yield from One Tomato Plant

Tomato plants come in two fruiting varieties, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomato plants grow to a predetermined size and set all their fruit at once. Indeterminate tomato plants keep growing all season long, setting fruit as long as the weather holds up. The amount each type of plant will yield will differ by how you take care of them.

If you want all your tomatoes at once, like for canning, freezing, making spaghetti sauce or salsa, then you will want to plant a determinate variety like Bush Beefsteak, Early Annie or Early Wonder. The bush style tomatoes ripen the earliest, so you will want to set them out later than a vining type of tomato. Tomatoes need warm nights and at least 7 hours a day of sunlight, so to maximize your harvest you will need to plant well after all danger of frost is past and the soil is warm. Using a fertilizer high in calcium and potassium will also help the blossoms to set tomatoes better. Using these methods you can expect to harvest 10 to 15 pounds of tomatoes per plant.

Indeterminate tomatoes will produce fruits all summer long. They can be set out earlier than the determinate varieties because they set their fruit later. Determinate tomatoes can ripen as early as 50 days after planting. Indeterminate varieties ripen about 80 days after planting, so they can be set out earlier, as soon as all danger of frost is past. They will require the same amount of daylight and warm nights. Fertilizer should be added all season long to aid the plants. Indeterminate varieties will need staking or caging. They can also be trellised along a fence. The vines will need support to keep the fruits off the ground. Indeterminate varieties can produce up to 20 pounds per plant, especially if they get a long growing season.