<p>70 days. Long clusters of large cherry tomatoes really come into their own when they are dried in the sunshine like the Italians do. Pick the whole cluster and hang it against a hot sunny wall so the sugars really develop. Small vined determinate plant.</p><p>Start indoors in early April unless you have a greenhouse or cloche to set the plants into; in which case, start late March because you can set the bigger plants out earlier. The object is to raise large plants, but they do take up a lot of space when they are 1ft tall in 6in pots! Seed germinates best when soil temperature is above 24-32 C (75-90F). Try on top of the hot water tank, refrigerator or VCR. (Light is not crucial while they sprout.) Once they are up, move the container to a bright light in a cooler location. Grow seedlings at about 15C (60F) daytime, 8-10C (45-50F) at night for best root development. Do not let night temperature fall below 4C (40F). Grown on the cool side like this, transplants take 6-8 weeks. Water carefully, allowing the soil to dry on the surface between waterings, but don't let the plants wilt. Keep moving them into larger pots, burying the stem a bit each time. Fertilize with fish emulsion or half strength complete water-soluble fertilizer every 10-14 days. Around the second week in May, weather permitting, start to harden them off, which involves setting the small plants outside in the shade by day, then back inside at night for a week; then into full sun, and finally outside overnight. Plant them into the garden about May 24th. If you are using a greenhouse or a cloche, they can be set out as early as May 1st, but after the last frost. The parthenocarpic types such as Oregon Spring can be set out when the nighttime temperature is reliably above 7C (45F); this could be as early as late April in some locations. If your plants have become leggy, plant them deeply; the stems will actually sprout roots. Position each plant beside a stake or provide some support for vigorous growers such as Early Cascade, Fantastic and other indeterminate varieties. Space determinate varieties 45-60cm (18-24in) apart and indeterminate varieties 50-75cm (20-30 in.) in rows 1m (3ft) apart. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup complete organic fertilizer, worked into the soil where the transplant goes. If the soil is acid, or plants have blossom end rot, work in a handful of bonemeal and dolomite lime for each plant. A high-phosphate fertilizer will minimize transplant shock. Protecting the plants with Reemay helps promote good early growth. When watering tomato plants, avoid wetting the leaves. Try not to water towards the end of August, so that the plants can be stressed enough to ripen fruit faster. If it is a wet summer, a plastic cover over the plants to keep them dry should help prevent fungus diseases and hasten ripening. <p>The growing tip of determinate tomatoes ends in a flower cluster. Determinates normally have a concentrated fruit set and the ‘suckers’ are not removed. These types do not need staking and the plants are smaller. Indeterminate varieties' vines continue to grow and produce fruit until frost. They need to be staked or trellised for best production. By removing the suckers from these plants, you keep the foliage under control (they dry quicker from rain and dew and are less vulnerable to blight) and they will set a later crop of larger fruit.</p>
