How many days from seed to outdoor transplantation?

[Moshou]

Hi,

Most often, we start our seedlings in crowded containers

It is known that when tomato seedlings are three or four inches tall and have their second pair of leaves, it's time to take them out of their crowded containers and put them into deeper, roomier ones.

Before the tomato plants can be transplanted successfully to the garden, they need to develop strong root and top growth. To be sure their seedlings have a good root system, many gardeners prefer to repot them a second time before setting them out in the garden. This operation should be done when seedlings are six to 10 inches tall.

We generally count 6-7 weeks (about 50 days) from seed to outdoor transplantation ( seedling maturity).

Recently I visited
http://www.gianttomatoseeds.com/tomato_seeds.html

Here, days are given as: days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit / days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit.

So

1884, 72/155 days.
Abe Lincoln, 110/193 days.
Ace 55, 108/193 days.
and so on

I can see that '1884 tomato seedling' needs 155 - 72 = 83 days for maturity, Ame Lincoln needs 193 - 110 = 83 days, and Ace 55 needs 193 - 108 = 85 days

On the other hand, I can see

Ananas Noire, 79/114 , that means 114 - 79 = 35 days
Ashleigh, 98/126 days, that means 126 - 98 = 28 days
Beam's Yellow 77/99, that means 99 - 77 = 22 days
(examples can continue)

Is real this such a difference ? Some seedlings needs 85 days, while other need only 22?

[Baizanator]

Originally Posted by Moshou

Hi,

Most often, we start our seedlings in crowded containers

It is known that when tomato seedlings are three or four inches tall and have their second pair of leaves, it's time to take them out of their crowded containers and put them into deeper, roomier ones.

Before the tomato plants can be transplanted successfully to the garden, they need to develop strong root and top growth. To be sure their seedlings have a good root system, many gardeners prefer to repot them a second time before setting them out in the garden. This operation should be done when seedlings are six to 10 inches tall.

We generally count 6-7 weeks (about 50 days) from seed to outdoor transplantation ( seedling maturity).

Recently I visited
http://www.gianttomatoseeds.com/tomato_seeds.html

Here, days are given as: days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit / days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit.

So

1884, 72/155 days.
Abe Lincoln, 110/193 days.
Ace 55, 108/193 days.
and so on

I can see that '1884 tomato seedling' needs 155 - 72 = 83 days for maturity, Ame Lincoln needs 193 - 110 = 83 days, and Ace 55 needs 193 - 108 = 85 days

On the other hand, I can see

Ananas Noire, 79/114 , that means 114 - 79 = 35 days
Ashleigh, 98/126 days, that means 126 - 98 = 28 days
Beam's Yellow 77/99, that means 99 - 77 = 22 days
(examples can continue)

Is real this such a difference ? Some seedlings needs 85 days, while other need only 22?

That CAN'T be right.

[habitat_gardener]

I looked at that site, and I saw this:
"I did not always record when the first tomato of a given variety was ripe, but rather when a fruit suitable for seed saving was ripe. Accordingly, some days to maturation will be much later than typically published, while days that seem too early are accurate."

Those dates still look remarkably early!

[Moshou]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

I looked at that site, and I saw this:
"I did not always record when the first tomato of a given variety was ripe, but rather when a fruit suitable for seed saving was ripe. Accordingly, some days to maturation will be much later than typically published, while days that seem too early are accurate."

Those dates still look remarkably early!

This observation is real, but it doesn't contain the answer to my question

Let's talk about Abe Lincoln, 110/193 days.

110 = days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit
193 = days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit

Let's say the tomato was ripe 6 days before was recorded (harvested)

Then, the real data is:
days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit = 110 - 6 = 104
days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit = 193 - 6 = 187

187 - 104 = 83 days, the same result

The question was: Is it true that, depending on type, tomato seedlings need very different days to be ready for outdoor transplantation (to be mature)?

See that, according to cited site, Abe Lincoln seedlings need 83 days while Beam's Yellow seedlings need only 22 (about 4 times more)

[Baizanator]

Originally Posted by Moshou

This observation is real, but it doesn't contain the answer to my question

Let's talk about Abe Lincoln, 110/193 days.

110 = days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit
193 = days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit

Let's say the tomato was ripe 6 days before was recorded (harvested)

Then, the real data is:
days from transplant to harvested ripe fruit = 110 - 6 = 104
days from seed sowing to harvested ripe fruit = 193 - 6 = 187

187 - 104 = 83 days, the same result

The question was: Is it true that, depending on type, tomato seedlings need very different days to be ready for outdoor transplantation (to be mature)?

See that, according to cited site, Abe Lincoln seedlings need 83 days while Beam's Yellow seedlings need only 22 (about 4 times more)

Again, those figures can't be right. Abe Lincoln is a midseason variety and 110 DTM would make it an EXTREMELY late season variety.

[Father'sDaughter]

Personally, I don't put much stock in other's days to maturity data. So much depends on your seed starting methods and the growing conditions in your area. I much prefer the sites that use early, mid and late season versus day counts.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Personally, I don't put much stock in other's days to maturity data. So much depends on your seed starting methods and the growing conditions in your area. I much prefer the sites that use early, mid and late season versus day counts.

Agreed that days to maturity are just guesstimates.

I use the terms early, midseason and late but also attach a day range to each of those.

And in my zone 5 garden, which are applicable elsewhere in adjoining or similar garden zones those would be:

Early, 55-65 days
Mid, 65-80
Late, over 80 days

And Glenn Drowns at Sandhill uses a version of what I had in my book:

Very Early, 55 days or less
Early, 55-70 days
Mid, 70-85 days
Late, usually over 85 days

There are just too many darn variables to use simply days, and I know that some seed sites just take an average of what SSE listers give for a variety, and those could be from all over the place, geographically, and use a single number to indicate days to maturity.

When I see a DTM of 73 days, I have to tell you I can't help laughing a bit.

[bower]

This year I started a couple of plants really early: Feb 2, and most of my tomato plants on Feb 22. Both groups were transplanted to their big tubs in the greenhouse on the same date, and all of the plants produced their first rudimentary flower buds on the same day, even though the first two were started weeks earlier. The same day, buds were also found on extra plants which were still in beer cups in the greenhouse. My take on this, is that all of the plants were mature enough to set buds, but needed a certain amount of "degree-days" to do so - maybe a minimum that they all have in common or nearly so. (?) I've read that tomatoes are not day-length sensitive, otherwise that could explain it.

Differences cropped up in the next stage, though, in how long it took different varieties to open flowers and set fruit. Early season varieties - Stupice and Moravsky Div - were first to open and first to set, while the late season varieties Vorlon and Oaxacan Jewel took a lot longer to get those buds ready to open, and also longer to set and to ripen their fruit.

I've yet to see any tomato go from flower to fruit in 22 days, even during the optimal part of the growing season. The shortest I've seen is 28-30 days from a visible fruit set to ripe (Peacevine Cherry, Moravsky Div). I would sure like to find others that ripen quickly though!

Also noticed, plants of the same variety which are outdoors therefore much cooler take a good bit longer to ripen their fruit... it's about the degree-days then.