Some dumb questions about maturity/DTM

[kelleyville]

Ok the seed packet says....so many days from transplant to maturity. Does that mean after I transplant that the plant is supposed to be full grown in that many days, or full of ripe tomatoes? Also days from transplant? Which transplant? I seeded multiple seeds in pots, separated them when they had true leaves into little pots that were adequate, repotted as they grew into larger pots...so which transplant does the tomato use? I mean does the tomato know I transplanted it the first time or the second or the third?

Sorry if I am showing my blondness but....

Thanks!
Kelley

[carolyn137]

Kelley,

DTM, or days to maturity means when you first get the first ripe fruits after setting the plants outside.

And as far as I and many others are concerned DTM's are a joke, a guesstimate.

There are so many factors that go into plant growth and fruit maturation that no one can predict with any accuracy when the first fruits will appear.

If you looked at just ONE variety listed in the SSE Yearbook where many folks list that variety you'd see a large range of DTM's that reflect where someone grows, the weather in the season they grew it, how they grow their tomatoes, what amendments they use, and more.

So take DTM's only as general guidelines and that's about all, as in don't rely on published ones.

Sure a DTM of 65 days might indicate an early season variety while a DTM of maybe 85 might indicate a late season variety, and in between there's lots of room for guesstimates.

[kelleyville]

Very confusing! I guess this is the first year I really paid attention! That and I had no idea that these better boy and big beef hybrids were going to be so tall! I have some really nice sized fruit but my tops are falling over and I am afraid they are going to break! It is really bad now that I can water vegetables...they are not used to getting rained on and they just flop over

I guess it is time to head to HD or the likes and buy something very tall for stakes-better late than never...My plants are 7 - 8 feet tall and growing still! They would be taller if they had not fallen over this way and that so many times. Only thing I can think of that tall is maybe copper pipe? And prayers that I dont break everything while trying to detangle my plants and tie them up

since I started my seeds outside, and they went in and out until the weather got stable and transplanted them so many times I was really unsure. So maybe any day now on my biggest big beef! I know they went into the actual garden bed around the first week in May and started fruiting shortly there after. Then again my neighbors store bought beefsteak is short and skinny and has ripe tomatoes!

Thanks so very much Carolyn!

[Worth1]

If I started counting days along with everything else, I really would go nuts.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by kelleyville

Ok the seed packet says....so many days from transplant to maturity. Does that mean after I transplant that the plant is supposed to be full grown in that many days, or full of ripe tomatoes?

With indeterminate varieties, the answer is neither. Indeterminate tomato plants (most heirlooms) set fruit over an extended period of time. The plants do not have a "mature" size and if, by some strange occurrence, spring/summer lasted forever, and you could keep the plant disease-free, the plant would grow indefinitely. Some varieties like Coyote and Black Cherry when given ideal circumstances and a long growing season can reach 12-16 feet, setting and ripening from from about the 4' tall mark.

DTM is supposed to be from the date of transplant (6-8 week old plants) to the first ripe fruit. Of course tomato plants are like cats and rarely follow directions.

Originally Posted by kelleyville

Also days from transplant? Which transplant?

In the ground.

[kelleyville]

So does the tomato know if it is in the ground or in a pot? I know they took off like crazy once in the ground!

Thanks for the good answers!

I am going crazy I want a ripe tomato that I grew

Kelley

[dice]

Well, it does know when it is outside in direct
sunlight.

Some perspective, using Aunt Ginny's Purple
for an example:

How long it usually takes where Sandhill Preservation
grows them: 65 days

How long it usually takes where TGS grows them:
75-85 days

How long it took Tatiana in the neighborhood
of Vancouver, BC in 2006, according to her
online seed list: 105 days

I planted out around 1st of May, mostly,
got some good weather, and I was anticipating
with enthusiasm all of the 60 day tomatoes that
would be setting fruit and ripening by now. Then it
alternated between rain and clouds in cool weather
for 3 weeks starting the first of June, and everything
pretty much went into slow motion, producing flowers
but not setting fruit, slowly creeping upwards.

So how useful would my DTM figures for this year
be to someone else, somewhere else, or even
someone else growing here in a different year?
Not very useful.

A more accurate way to gauge time to ripen
would be to take some well-known variety
as a benchmark and relate it to that:

"Earlier than Rutgers."
"Way earlier than Rutgers."
"Sets fruit before Rutgers even produces flowers."
"About the same as Rutgers."
"Later than Rutgers."
"So much later than Rutgers that I consider it
greenhouse-only."

[kelleyville]

Thanks Dice, in other words when they ripen they ripen! I will try and be a bit more patient! Some of the green tomatoes are so large though it just seems they should already be ripe!

My first "Flower Pot Tomato" aka Pakmor which I am still very confused about has grown to the size of a softball-package said baseball sized fruits! It is the largest tomato I have every grown, actually all the maters are the largest I have ever grown this year! waiting for first blush to appear

Kelley

[paul2101]

Kelley,

While "Days to Maturity" can be quite misleading, there is another system that is a bit more useful. That is, ranking tomatoes as Very Early, Early, Mid-season, and Late.

If you rank the maturity in relation to other known varieties, then the number of days is not too important. The system is not so exacting and it doesn't yield the false accuracy provided by the DTM numbers.

For example, the varieties Kimberly and Stupice are classed as "very early". In my garden they might mature in 58 days. In another growers garden they might mature in 67 days. In some years Kimberly may beat Stupice; other years vice-versa. However, in most growers gardens they both will generally mature before tomatoes that are not classed as "very early".

I used this system when I set up my tomato database (still in development). Here is what I put on my website.
http://www.tomatosite.com/index.php?...&RD=r_Maturity

Paul

[kelleyville]

Paul,
Thanks! Wow neat information on your site! I bookmarked you for future reference! It will definitely help me next year when I plant! I will try to plant something from every maturity stage! That way I won't be so impatient!

Kelley

[Hilde]

That's a really nice tomato database, Paul!

[tanagerzoo]

Here's another DTM craziness. This year I must be having some crazy-good tomato year. I planted May 1st which is 1-2 weeks later than usual. I usually don't get ripe tomatoes until mid-July, yet I've pulled dead ripe tomatoes off of 9 varieties. I've grown several of these varieties before in the same spot and previous years they've stuck closer to their published DTMs

Anna Russian DTM: 70 Actual DTM: 60
Black Cherry DTM: 65 Actual 60
Black Ethiopian DTM: 80 Actual: 60
Black from Tula DTM: 80 Actual: 60
Cherokee Green DTM: 80 Actual: 64
Cherokee Purple DTM: 85 Actual: 60
Momotoro DTM: 74 Actual: 60
Stupice DTM: 65 Actual 60
Sungold DTM: 57 Actual 47

And the varieties that will be picked within a day or two (I'm at day 64 today)
Big Ben #2 (75)
Goosecreek (75)
Juane Flamme (80)
Pruden's Purple (80)
Work Release Paste (85)

I'm not complaining , but I am a bit in awe.

[bbjm]

So many variables. I bought a Rutgers and Jet Star from a nursery. I planted them out near the same time I planted out some seedlings I grew such as Silvery Fir Tree, which I believe is supposed to be an early. I've been eating Rutgers and Jet Star for a week and have only a small green tomato on the SFT. Go figure. I imagine it has a lot to do with the relative maturity of the plants when I placed them in the ground.

[carolyn137]

While "Days to Maturity" can be quite misleading, there is another system that is a bit more useful. That is, ranking tomatoes as Very Early, Early, Mid-season, and Late.

****

And I took a similar approach in my book where I suggested:

55-65 days, earlies

65 to 80 days, midseason

80 days and greater, late season

And this is based on my zone 5 growing area.

But I've had midseason ones come in before earlies, and lates come in before mids, so about all I can say is that it's a rough guideline, and nothing more.

[kelleyville]

I am taking care of my neighbors potted plans while they are away in Florida. They were half dead when I brought them over but now have tons of new growth. These were purchased at local store, home depot or lowes maybe. they are producing fruit pretty rapidly, even on spindly stems with fragile leaves, while mine are taking thier sweet time At least I do have some ripe tomatoes to eat!

it kind of looks like my neighbors stuck them in a pot and they started making fruit! The pots are way too small for the plant...go figure!

Kelley