The plant is covered with glandular hairs which emit a strong aroma when bruised. The plant likes high temperatures during the day, to promote flower production, and cool temperature at night, to promote fruit set. Determinate plants are usually shorter and more bush-like, and finish their vegetative growth before setting out flowers. At a certain point in the season the terminal buds will form flowers instead of foliage. The plants will then bear most of their fruit during a two to four week period, after which little additional fruit will be produced.
Indeterminate plants continue vegetative growth, along with flower production throughout the season.
They produce vines which will grow indefinitely under the proper climatic conditions because the terminal bud remains vegetative while flowers are produced from lateral buds. They will also produce fruit throughout the season, as long as environmental conditions are favorable. The article stated that a study at Harvard Medical School found that consuming tomatoes, tomato sauce or pizza more than twice a week reduced risk of prostate cancer by as much as a third. The redder the tomato the more lycopene in it. The study also found that eating a small amount of fat helped improve the body's absorption of lycopene.