Tomatoes - How long do they take to ripen?

Pat_Planky

Hi.
I have a mix of varieties of tomato plants growing in a conservatory. Some monkey makers, some tomatoe berries as well as some others. It is good and hot and humid in there during the day, probably up to 30C when the sun is out.

I've had tomatoes for the last two weeks but no sign of any reddening.

how long does it usually take?

redser7

Impossible to say as it depends on so many variables. When was the seed sown. How many trusses have you restricted it to. How many hours of direct sunshine are they getting. How are they being fed. The variety can make a big difference too. I have some maskotka plants which are very early croppers and we've been getting about a dozen toms each day since June 1st.
In general it's good to sow at least a few in february/early March for an early crop. Restrict the trusses on at least one plant to 4 to encourage an early crop. Choose a variety like Maskotka and you will get an early crop. Feed regularly. Use at least a 10 litre pot for plants that are not in the ground, pot size will restrict the plant.
Hope it helps.

Sgt Pepper 64

redser7 wrote: »

Impossible to say as it depends on so many variables. When was the seed sown. How many trusses have you restricted it to. How many hours of direct sunshine are they getting. How are they being fed. The variety can make a big difference too. I have some maskotka plants which are very early croppers and we've been getting about a dozen toms each day since June 1st.
In general it's good to sow at least a few in february/early March for an early crop. Restrict the trusses on at least one plant to 4 to encourage an early crop. Choose a variety like Maskotka and you will get an early crop. Feed regularly. Use at least a 10 litre pot for plants that are not in the ground, pot size will restrict the plant.
Hope it helps.

Thanks for that I too have been struggling and only just realised that maybe I need bigger pots as that gives more soil for them to feed off.

redser7

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Thanks for that I too have been struggling and only just realised that maybe I need bigger pots as that gives more soil for them to feed off.

Cant recommend maskotka highly enough. With 6 plants in 10 lt pots and another 3 in small pots (ran out of big ones) we've been eating loads. You can save the seeds too. I'd nearly ONLY grow this one except I want to grow other types for making sauces.

genuine leather

I have had a few instances where the pot size was not large enough for the plant. I picked up a growbag, loosened contents, cut the shape of the pot from growbag, and either cut an inch or so off the pot or if the drainage holes are big enough just placed it straight into the growbag, the roots will find their way.

http://rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=437

I have also half filled a larger pot dropped the smaller pot in,filled around the edges,works pretty good also. I will always mulch toms with some small pea gravel over some teram, helps retain moisture and keeps the feeder roots at the top nice and cool.

Gambas

Pat_Planky wrote: »

Hi.
I have a mix of varieties of tomato plants growing in a conservatory. Some monkey makers, some tomatoe berries as well as some others. It is good and hot and humid in there during the day, probably up to 30C when the sun is out.

I've had tomatoes for the last two weeks but no sign of any reddening.

how long does it usually take?

Longer than you'd expect, particularly the big ones. They'll ripen, that's a certainty. Just make sure you don't get into a cycle of letting them dry out then watering heavily, otherwise many will split.

Sgt Pepper 64

redser7 wrote: »

Cant recommend maskotka highly enough. With 6 plants in 10 lt pots and another 3 in small pots (ran out of big ones) we've been eating loads. You can save the seeds too. I'd nearly ONLY grow this one except I want to grow other types for making sauces.

Too late to sow now? I have a plastic greenhouse and a electric propator

redser7

I'd say it is too late
I chanced my arm and sowed a few 2 weeks ago for a late crop. They are growing fast compared to March ones but still they are very small. They will sense the days shortening and so wont do as well as spring sown in the end. Hopefully I get a some crop though.

Sgt Pepper 64

redser7 wrote: »

I'd say it is too late
I chanced my arm and sowed a few 2 weeks ago for a late crop. They are growing fast compared to March ones but still they are very small. They will sense the days shortening and so wont do as well as spring sown in the end. Hopefully I get a some crop though.

At least I know for next year, should have a proper greenhouse then

redser7

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

At least I know for next year, should have a proper greenhouse then

You wont know yourself

Sgt Pepper 64

Could be the same problem with my pepper plants. Very healthy, but small and no peppersl. Need to repot

Pat_Planky

Thanks Redser7. maskotka sound very good, I'll give them a try next year. How do you save the seeds?

redser7

Pat_Planky wrote: »

Thanks Redser7. maskotka sound very good, I'll give them a try next year. How do you save the seeds?

Pick 2 or 3 really nice looking toms from a healthy plant. Mark them in some way so that you wont pick them. Let them ripen and leave them on the plant till they fall off at the end of the season. The seeds inside should be fully matured at that stage. Cut out the jelly centre containing the seeds and pop it all into a glass of water. Put it away out of sight for a couple of weeks. When you go back all that jelly gunk will have rotted and separated away from the seeds and floated to the top. It will be mouldy and disgusting. Just pour that off and you should be left with clean seeds. Give them a little rinse then leave them somewhere to dry for a bit. I use grease proof paper as they stick to tissue when they dry. Then wrap them up in something that will stay dry over winter, I use grease proof paper again. That's it. I sow a few in January just to make sure they are viable, which they always are but you always worry the magic didn't work I dump the seedlings when they germinate. Free tomatoes forever!

Pat_Planky

Great thanks. How do you support your plants? I suspended mine by twine from wires I nailed into the roof struts but a couple of nails came out under the weight as they grew and one plant snapped as a result. Everything above the snap is still growing fine though, now just juts out at 90 degrees.

redser7

I use a mixture of canes and suspended strings. Somehow I always have some sort of trouble with both I think it's more down my DIY skills or lack thereof more than anything. Slender 'light' plants like Rosada that have cherry plums do fine on strings but I find I need canes with something like san marzano. It's a madman with lots of growth and large fruits so much heavier.

Pat_Planky

Oh I never thought of that, I'm only supporting stems. Will the trusses need support as the fruit grows eg. Moneymakers?

redser7

Well the plant should strengthen as the fruit grows, and be able to take the weight. But sometimes the branches can break. In nature the plants sprawl along the ground or scramble over stuff. It's unnatural for them to grow vertically the way we tend to train them. So just use your judgement and help it out if you think it needs it.

j@utis

Pat_Planky wrote: »

Oh I never thought of that, I'm only supporting stems. Will the trusses need support as the fruit grows eg. Moneymakers?

I doubt that Moneymakers trusses wouldn't need any extra support. I'm growing one plant this year and it's trusses are pointing upwards at the moment with golf size toms on them. When the fruits get heavier I think I'll have to tie the truss the the main stem, otherwise it will bent or even snap off. I think it purely depends on the variety. Some tomatoes trusses are naturally bent downwards and can take the weight of the fruit, if those aren't too big of course.

Pat_Planky

Pat_Planky wrote: »

Hi.
I have a mix of varieties of tomato plants growing in a conservatory. Some monkey makers, some tomatoe berries as well as some others. It is good and hot and humid in there during the day, probably up to 30C when the sun is out.

I've had tomatoes for the last two weeks but no sign of any reddening.

how long does it usually take?

An update for anyone that is interested...
I got my first ripe tomatoe (a marabella I think) yesterday..
So that was in and about three weeks from appearance to ripened...