Tomatoes - How long do they take to ripen?

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.

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.

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 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

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

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!

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.

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.