Tomatoes!

[New_Bud]

Just a quick question, roughly how long after a tomato flowers does it produce fruit? oh yeah and normally how big are they when they start producing (my dad wants to know!)
Thanks all!

[zazen999]

As soon as the flower drops you should see tiny fruit underneath. The time to produce ripe fruit depends on loads of things - the type of tomato, the weather and temperature, the soil and probably more on the more impatient you are the slower they grow.

Can't say how big they as not sure if you mean the plant or the tom - and again it depends on the type.

[Kristen]

"it depends on the type"

Indeed. My Gardeners Delight, which are a Cherry type, have already given me some ripe fruit. My Alisa Craig were planted at the same time, starting flowering at the same time, are the same height, but have larger "normal sized" fruit, and I reckon they will give me their first fruit about 2 weeks later than the Gardeners Delight.

I can't remember when the first truss was set, otherwise I could tell you flower-to-fruit time, but I reckon it could be as much as 4 weeks, maybe less now the weather is getting warmer. Keep watering and feeding them at steady intervals.

[mcsee]

A quick way to find out would be to check your variety with a seed company web site as they usually list DTM (Days to maturity) eg.Indeterminate. 85 days

The 85 days is from when the seedling was planted in the ground.

[New_Bud]

I rescued the plant from a garden centre so I don't have a clue to be honest
Oh well I'll just have to wait and see!

[New_Bud]

Oh yeah and when I said how big, I meant the tomato plant i.e how big does it have to be to produce fruit?

[Kristen]

"I rescued the plant from a garden centre"

I hope that isn't a euphemism for paying five quid at the checkout till?!

"how big does it have to be to produce fruit?"

Doesn't quite work like that.

You can grow Toms as a bush or as a cordon (a single stem up a cane or string, and you take out all the side shoots).

I do it the second way, and all mine are in a greenhouse.

I get my first truss (the flowering stalk, which later becomes a bunch of tomato fruits) after about 3 or 4 leaves, then I tend to get a truss every leaf or every other leaf [can't remember exactly], and the plant goes on growing. Mine have already hit the roof and I've rearranged them from vertical to diagonal; they have about 7 trusses on them; the top truss is just coming into flower, the next-from-top has some little pea-sized fruits, and the bottom truss has fruit that I have already picked, and more that is ripening. I'm pretty sure that I will start picking ripe fruit from the next truss before all the fruit on the bottom truss has finished ripened

In commercial greenhouses they grow them up a string which is attached to a "ball" of more twine. They cut the bottom leaves off and unwind some twine to lower the whole bottom part of the plant (the ball of twine gets moved further along the greenhouse) and I think by the end of the season the Tom plants can be 20' long.

[New_Bud]

heh! I payed 50p it was the last one and on sale, poor thing
oooh my, i dont think ill be doing the twine thing! Thanks kristen you've cleared some things up!

[JILLY JACKSON]

yes it does depend on what type you have etc.i have just picked my first outdoor red bush tomatoes ,but my Romanian ones are only showing the odd tiny fruit and some a neighbour gave me have just flowers!

[Kristen]

"oooh my, i dont think ill be doing the twine thing!"

Indeedie, don't worry about that, just type them to a cane (assuming you are not growing the bush type). For Cordons you do need to snap the side shoots out, but that's no big deal, once or twice a week, when you are watering them, will do.