How long from bloom to tomatoes - Page 3

MarieV · August 6, 2013

For the last two years I've noticed that my indeterminate varieties initially set fruit around mid-July, then although there are plenty of flowers, fruit set tends to slow down for a few weeks until those initial fruit begin to blush around late August to early September. I get a second wave of fruit setting around early September, but since our rains and colder weather start in late September, I usually have to pick them when they're green since the plants decline pretty quickly when it starts raining. Since the second wave of fruit set never get a chance to mature completely, I don't know if they ripen at the same rate. If I get ripe fruit earlier this year and get a second wave of fruit setting by mid-August, I may be able to find out.

Pollination rates have also been really low here in the PNW the last three years, so I usually go out every few days to shake the flower trusses. It helps with fruit set early in the season but doesn't seem to help during that lull period when I find a lot of dried blooms. I've also been pruning most of my indeterminate plants to one or two main stems, so that may also affect fruit set and days to maturity.

August 6, 2013	#31
MarieV Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 18	For the last two years I've noticed that my indeterminate varieties initially set fruit around mid-July, then although there are plenty of flowers, fruit set tends to slow down for a few weeks until those initial fruit begin to blush around late August to early September. I get a second wave of fruit setting around early September, but since our rains and colder weather start in late September, I usually have to pick them when they're green since the plants decline pretty quickly when it starts raining. Since the second wave of fruit set never get a chance to mature completely, I don't know if they ripen at the same rate. If I get ripe fruit earlier this year and get a second wave of fruit setting by mid-August, I may be able to find out. Pollination rates have also been really low here in the PNW the last three years, so I usually go out every few days to shake the flower trusses. It helps with fruit set early in the season but doesn't seem to help during that lull period when I find a lot of dried blooms. I've also been pruning most of my indeterminate plants to one or two main stems, so that may also affect fruit set and days to maturity.