Reply #6: Congrats

[Elidor]

They're very forgiving plants. Just give them a little love here and there and they'll reward you many times over.

"You should avoid giving tomato plants too much nitrogen (Miracle-Gro), especially before the fruit sets.  It is far better to plant them into a location that has healthy soil with high levels of organic matter worked in.  Over watering may help to produce larger fruit, but flavor may be reduced.  Additionally, splitting and cracking can result from uneven and excessive watering."
(I've learned this the hard way.)

"Determinate types ripen over 3 to 4 weeks and their bushes generally do not need staking.  Indeterminate continue to grow even after the fruit sets and ripen continuously until a frost arrives."

"Choose the plant that's right for you. There are two kinds of tomatoes, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate plants grow short and bushy, and all their fruit ripens at once. These plants work well in cages and are convenient for canning. Some popular varieties include Celebrity, Floramerica, Heatwave, and Roma. Indeterminate tomato plants are tall and vinelike, needing strong stakes. They tend to have a longer, more spread out fruiting period. Some of the popular indeterminate tomatoes are Early Girl, Better Boy, Big Beef, and Lemon Boy."

http://www.southernliving.com/southern/printerfriendly/0,14260,221862,00.html

I'm growing mostly indeterminates, and I use cages to support them. I almost invariably give them too much water, resulting in splitting, at which point Fried Green Tomatoes come into play.