Roma (VF) Tomato care

[Mark_Riga]

When buying seed for plum tomatoes, the shop didn't have my usual and I bought what they had being Roma. The packet says it is semi-determinate. So do I remove the side shoots as usual or leave them on? I have always had indeterminate types in the past. I've looked for how to look after this particular variety and all I have found is 'may need support'.
One thing I did notice is that the VF means that it is resistant to some forms of wilt (verticillium and fusarium) that can affect tomatoes which I have in the greenhouse so, if it does well, I may be growing regularly.

[Jungle Jane]

There’s an old thread on here with the same question,as it’s semi determinate I wouldn’t remove the sideshoots but some people do -
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...-roma-tomatoes

[Mark_Riga]

Thank's Jane. That was an interesting read. I've planted out about 4 I think so I'll remove some shoots off a couple and leave 2 to see how they do.

[Penellype]

I've grown Roma VF and ended up doing what you are suggesting - removing some of the sideshoots. The plants form a bushy thicket with stems upto 4ft long, so pinching out all shoots will result in a fairly short plant with very few fruit. they definitely need some support though or the stems will fall over and may break.

[MarkPelican]

Leave the earliest side shoots and stake it up to spread out the plant. Unless you've got lots of space or a heated greenhouse, take off the later sideshoots and pinch out the growing points because it will continue to set fruit (like an indeterminate) and they won't ripen.

Personally I try to avoid Italian tomatoes because I find they don't ripen (my greenhouse is shaded by a large oak in the morning) and semi-determinates because of knowing what to do with them. I prefer a determinate eastern european, something like kbits ukranian.

[Mark_Riga]

I will be interested to see how these, Roma (VF) grow in the greenhouse border. If they produce a good crop and don't show signs of any diseases, I'll try grafting other varieties onto them next year as an experiment. Wilt is the main problem with the soil in the greenhouse not sure which or if more than one.