What do all of the letters on the Tomato Plant label mean?

They are placed on the label to guide you in your selection of the Tomato Plant which could decide which will be the healthiest and most resistant to different Tomato conditions and diseases for your area.

A-or EB----Altemaria or Early Blight

F--- -Fusarium wilt

FF Fusarium Wilt type I and II

FFF Fusarium Wilt Type I, II and III

N Nematodes

ST Stemphyllum Gray leaf spot

T Tobacco Mosaic Virus

TMV Tobacco Mosaic Type

BKS Bacterial Speck

TSWV Tomato spotted wilt virus.

Also on the Tomato Plant Label should be one of the following :

Determinate, Indeterminate, Semi Determinate, or Dwarf Determinate.

You might say, all I want to do is grow some Tomatoes. Why do have to know all of that?

Depending upon where you live and the type of climate you have, very sunny and dry, very moist or intermittent occasional rains will determine what you should know about the 1st group of letters.

Some of them cause yellowing leaves which dry up and drop off. Others cause a wilting and mottling of the plant including the fruit itself. Some cause a rot. It's a shame after all of the attention and time spent to be rudely surprised late in the growth of the plant and even with the Tomato itself.

So look for the letters on the Tomato Plant Label, as an example -- F means Fusarium Wilt but FF or F2 means another newer strain has been added into the hybrid. Each of the group of letters represent a disease condition that the botanists have bred for that type of Tomato plant so it would be more resistant to the disease conditions.

To help you identify Tomato diseases you may see look up Aggie Horticulture to see actual pictures of these conditions.

The 2nd group has to do with the size of your garden and how long your growing season is, based on your climate and weather conditions and how large a crop of Tomatoes you wish to have.

If you have a short growing season then Determinant would be better as it flowers earlier but produces all of its Tomatoes at one time and then stops growing. If you have a longer spring, summer and fall or whenever your growing seasons are then the Indeterminate would be better as it starts a little later but flowers and bears fruit all thru the season until frost. The Semi Determinate is a combination of the two and the Dwarf is more compact and with smaller fruit.

The Indeterminate because of its longer season and larger plant produces a larger crop so you must plan on how much you can use or share so they are not wasted.