Chapter 5
Timing Your Tomatoes
Timing tomatoes is difficult and inexact. If you need mature tomatoes on a certain date, you will have to know when to plant your seeds and when to set your tomatoes. To do this, you must have an idea of how long it takes to go from planting a seed, to setting a tomato, to harvesting a mature tomato. Because of the uncontrollable variables involved in growing tomatoes, it is impossible to be absolutely exact as to when a tomato will be ready to harvest, but a plan will help.
It is so difficult to exactly time tomato maturity that some growers plant seeds in batches, growing up to three batches of tomatoes starting them one to two weeks apart so as to bracket their event date. This assures the grower that he will be more likely to have a ripe tomato on the desired date.
Variables affecting a tomato's maturation date
- 1. Planting date
- 2. Air and soil temperature
- 3. Amount of rainfall
- 4. Amount of sunlight
- 5. Tomato variety, and
- 6. Date of tomato set.
Of all the variables affecting tomato growth, weather is the most important. Cool weather delays the growth and maturation of tomatoes. On the other hand, higher temperatures may cause tomatoes to ripen early, and usually at lower weights. Tomatoes will not set in temperatures that are either too high or too low. The amount of rainfall is also important. Too much or too little rain, or over or under watering, has a negative effect on tomatoes, and will delay their growth and maturity. Another consideration is the amount of sunshine your plants receive, which is determined not only by the weather but by where you plant your tomatoes. The exact date of pollination of the tomato is yet another factor which will determine when the tomato will mature.
You also have to know how long it takes to go from transplanting into the garden to harvesting a mature tomato. The number of days is listed on most seed packets, but cannot be absolutely relied upon as it is an average. The time from transplant to maturity for large tomatoes is considered to be 80 days, give or take a few days. Though this number is not exact, it is a number we can use in predictive calculations. As an example, Big Zac is listed as 80 days from transplant to maturity while Delicious is listed as 77 days. For practical purposes, 80 days, plus or minus, is a number that can be utilized when timing most giant tomatoes.
It takes approximately 70 days from germinating a giant tomato seed before the first blossom opens which can be pollinated. Usually the first two or three clusters of blossoms are pruned off by giant tomato growers to allow the plant to mature a bit before setting tomatoes. On average, a new cluster of blossoms will appear each week. To go from a pollinated blossom to a mature tomato takes 70 days depending on the variables outlined above and the variety of tomato chosen. Based on these numbers it takes approximately 140 to 150 days to go from planting a seed to harvesting a ripe giant tomato.
For timing purposes, a rough general formula is as follows: a tomato with an 80 day maturity (transplant to harvest time) will be ready to harvest roughly 140 days from the day the seed is planted. This means that a particular variety of tomato, such as Big Zac, if planted on April 15th, should have ripe tomatoes on September 3rd, depending on the exact pollination date.
A reasonable rule for choosing a planting date might be as follows: "An 80 day tomato planted on April 1, transplanted to the garden on June 1, and pollinated between June 15 and July 15 will produce ripe tomatoes between August 15 and September 15 depending on the actual date of pollination and the weather."
An alternative method is to start your plants early, let them develop into large healthy plants, and then allow them to set tomatoes around a date based on your event. Having the knowledge that it takes about 70 days to go from tomato set to a mature tomato will allow you to select the date of tomato set. This means that if you want to have a mature tomato for an event on August 15th, you will need to set a tomato in early June, and for September 15th, in early July – 70 days before your event. All of the variables outlined earlier still affect the outcome. Keep in mind that just because a tomato has been pollinated does not mean it will set. The pollen must enter the stigma, travel down the style, and enter the ovules in the ovary for successful fertilization. Within two to three days of pollination, and by one week for sure, you will see the ovary begin to enlarge.
Grower Comments on Timing Your Tomatoes
"I always start my tomatoes around April 8th, because the contest I enter is at the end of August. I start in April because I want big and healthy plants ready for growing tomatoes toward the end of June. If you want fruits to ripen later, choose a fruit higher up on the plant. The fruit should be picked before it is over ripe. If it is too early for the contest, it can be kept in the refrigerator for almost three weeks without losing weight. The temperature should be around 50˚. I have a small refrigerator just for that purpose." Minnie Z.
"From the 20th of June until the 20th of July is when I allow blossoms to remain on the plant. Usually 8 to 10 are pollinated in this time frame, and then it's a competition between them. By August 15th, you want to be down to five. Prune one off every week until you are down to one, but which one? These tomatoes should be 2 to 3 feet up on the plant. The plant will top out at 5 to 6 feet. For a first of October harvest, you should be pollinated about the 15th of July."
"That may change considerably depending on how much heat you get. We have primarily cool nights, with daytime temperatures in the high 70's." Eddy Z.
"The timing of tomato plants in our garden is probably the most important consideration that my Dad and myself have had to deal with. I believe that our timing is what has allowed us to do so well at the weigh-off competitions in October. On average, my Dad likes to start competition tomatoes in three separate lots starting around the end of May, with each subsequent lot two weeks apart. About ten seeds are germinated in each lot, and the first seeds are ready to be transplanted outside by late June. At this time of year, the warm summer weather will allow the plants to grow rapidly and often the first lot of tomato plants may ripen too early – and not be usable in a weigh-off in October. All of this depends on the growing conditions that we have during the season. In some seasons, we have had our largest tomatoes ripen early, and in other seasons, the fruits were not fully ripened. If the fruits are too far ahead of schedule, we water them with cold water to slow them down a little. On the other hand, if the growing season is cool and the later tomato plants are behind schedule, we will pollinate the first blossoms and go with them. Sometimes you just have to take a chance and go with what you have." Chris Lyons
"Timing is very important if you require a giant tomato for a special event or a competitive show. The third or fourth truss on a tomato plant will usually produce the biggest tomatoes, and to have a fully developed tomato on these trusses by early autumn, the seed should be sown in mid-summer." (This timing can, of course, be adjusted either way.) Excerpted from Bernard Lavery's, How to Grow Giant Vegetables.
Tomato Timetable
April 1 |
1-Jun |
15-Jun |
1-Sep |
|---|---|---|---|
Germinate |
Transplant |
Set |
Harvest |
Robert Ehigh and the Miracle-Gro Tomato Challenge
In 1994, Robert Ehigh, a retired coal miner and baker in St. Clairsville, Ohio, decided to answer the challenge. The Tomato Challenge, sponsored by Miracle-Gro, offered a $100,000 prize to the person who could grow a new world record tomato. In 1986, Gordon Graham of Edmond, Oklahoma had set that record by growing a 7 pound, 12 ounce tomato from a variety of tomato known as Delicious.
Ehigh was reported to have a tomato growing in his garden that weighed over 6 pounds and was still growing. Ehigh was so excited that he was waking the tomato up in the morning and putting it to bed at night. He also played music to it and sang to it during the day. As it was getting late in the season and the weather was growing cold, it was covered by a small temporary A-frame house built in the garden to protect it. Miracle-Gro sent guards to Ehigh's garden and the tomato was kept under 24 hour surveillance, so that it would not be damaged by curiosity seekers or vandals. Gordon Graham was flown in by Miracle-Gro to see the tomato and give Ehigh moral support.
Finally, it was decided to weigh the tomato live on the Regis and Kathy Show in New York City. With his tomato in a cooler, Ehigh flew to New York. The tomato measured 24 inches in circumference. However, before the tomato could be weighed, a tear developed in its side, due to the trip and so many people handling it. A considerable amount of water was lost due to the tear. The tomato weighed in at just over 4 pounds when placed on the scales, a weight that was inconsistent with the circumference measurement of the tomato. Ehigh was given a $10,000 consolation prize. Regis Philbin said the tomato was shaped like the head of Joey Lawrence of the television show, Blossom.
Graham and Ehigh became good friends after that, collaborating and competing at the same time. The following year, they set out to beat the old record and capture the $100,000. They exchanged tomato seeds and advice, but were unable to accomplish the feat. At the end of the growing season in 1995, the Tomato Challenge Contest ended.
