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Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and
he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer
wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? The first one. Pat |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sat, 24 May 2003 16:33:11 -0400, Pat Meadows
wrote: On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? The first one. Pat Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
"Chuck Mercer" wrote in message ... On Sat, 24 May 2003 16:33:11 -0400, Pat Meadows wrote: On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? The first one. Pat Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob Go get some plants from your local nursery or Home Depot. |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
Chuck Mercer wrote:
On Sat, 24 May 2003 16:33:11 -0400, Pat Meadows wrote: On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? The first one. Pat Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob go to any decent sized nursery and buy some transplants. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email) |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
DigitalVinyl wrote:
Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob go to any decent sized nursery and buy some transplants. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email) Yup. I can't grow from seeds anymore. Our cat eats 'em for "roughage" I think. ;-) I always do transplants now and have good tomatos right outside. -- Steve |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer
wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. To everything, there is a season. In temperate (such an odd term for bitter winter cold and scorching summer heat) climates, tomato plants will *grow* after "danger of frost" is past and the soil has warmed up some. However, we generally try to get a jump on the season by starting plants in warmer, sheltered environments. My 'volunteer' plants from last year's dropped fruit are about 3" high now; the greenhouse-started ones are 2' tall after 3 weeks outdoors. They all take approx. the same time to mature and bear fruit. We start them early (or buy plants) to have fruit as soon as possible. It's not exactly "too late" if you have a long growing season. You just won't be able to serve your own tomatoes at your 4th of July picnic. |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
Steve Calvin wrote in message ...
DigitalVinyl wrote: Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob go to any decent sized nursery and buy some transplants. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email) Yup. I can't grow from seeds anymore. Our cat eats 'em for "roughage" I think. ;-) I always do transplants now and have good tomatos right outside. I guess I will find out soon enough. Normally, I start all of my seedlings inside and have them all in the ground by April 20 or so. This year I wanted to try just a couple more varieties as an afterthought so I germinated them outdoors in my big planter that contains young carrot plants. They seem to be doing fine so far. Will report back on how they produce. They were transplanted into the garden on May 12. It is interesting to have plants all the way from seedlings to over 3 feet tall but if the seedlings do produce, my crop should be steady at least through September. Lee Hall Zone 6B |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sun, 25 May 2003 00:57:46 GMT, Steve Calvin
wrote: DigitalVinyl wrote: Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob go to any decent sized nursery and buy some transplants. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email) Yup. I can't grow from seeds anymore. Our cat eats 'em for "roughage" I think. ;-) I always do transplants now and have good tomatos right outside. Our cat has not bothered the seedlings. We had to put a piece of wooden lattice-work across the bay window though: we have a wide bay window - the kind that sticks out from the house and has one big window, plus two smaller ones at an angle to it. There's a window ledge that's about two feet wide. I never could have plants there (cat and dogs), but now we've blocked their access with a piece of wooden lattice-work. Our cat is a large and heavy cat and a total non-climber, this probably wouldn't work for cats who climb. Pat |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sun, 25 May 2003 00:23:34 GMT, "FDR"
wrote: Go get some plants from your local nursery or Home Depot. I have done this in previous years and ended up with plump, red, okay tasting, boring tomatoes. My hope was that I could also try something different, such as stupice or cherokee purple or one of the obscure heirloom types. I will know next year. There are not any mail order plant suppliers in my country that still have heirlooms and customs does not permit importing plants that have any earth on them. |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
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Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
On Sun, 25 May 2003 18:04:39 -0400, Robin
wrote: Do you have a farmer's market in your area? I've gotten Pineapple, Mortgage Lifter, Homestead, Sungold, Mountain Pride, Principe Borghese, and the more pedestrian/common Lemon Boy, Early Girl, and Celebrity from mine. As well as a few others I'm probably forgetting. ;) There is no large farmer's market anywhere close to me. The local nursery has only the common types and the variety at the other stores, I have come to realise, is fit only for weeping over. As you said, Early Girl, Lemon Boy etc. The problem is that I was blissfully unaware of what I was missing. Now I think about those red, plump, globe shaped, boring tomatoes still with eager anticipation, but I know that even better types exist. This next year will pass as slowly as did the last year before I could drink! I just hope the heirloom tomatoes are not as disappointing as Molson's (I have since learned there are much better beers than the common kinds, too). |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
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Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
Steve Calvin writes:
Yup. I can't grow from seeds anymore. Our cat eats 'em for "roughage" I think. ;-) I always do transplants now and have good tomatos right outside. Another possibility is to grow some wheat -- many cats like the tender wheat seedlings (around here, it's sold as "kitty grass" -- around $2.50 for a 3"-3.5" pot). Hopefully, they'll prefer the wheat over the tomatoes. [ However, I wouldn't let the wheat get above 6" or so. Cats seem to go for the tender seedlings (3"-5"), but I don't know about anything taller. ] -- Darryl Okahata DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Agilent Technologies, or of the little green men that have been following him all day. |
Why plant tomatoes 6-8 weeks in advance?
Chuck Mercer wrote:
On Sat, 24 May 2003 16:33:11 -0400, Pat Meadows wrote: On Sat, 24 May 2003 15:59:58 -0400, Chuck Mercer wrote: I told a friend that I would like to grow some tomatoes from seed and he told me that it is too late this year and that tomatoes are usually started indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior to being planted outdoors. This friend told me if I planted seed directly outdoors then tomatoes which say they produce ripe fruit in 8 weeks will require 14 to 16 weeks. Another friend tells me the plants will produce fruit in the same time but the plants will just will not be as large or as productive. Who is correct? The first one. Pat Shoots. Guess it is next year for me. sob Where are you? Volunteer tomato seedlings are just starting to come up here in southern Minnesota. If I let them go, they will try to catch up with the plants I set out. I would get a small crop off of them, even up here with such a short season. Go ahead and plant some seeds; what have you got to lose? My tomatillo seedlings are blooming already. They are about 5 or 6 weeks old. If you are interested tomatillos, you could surely still get a crop from seeds. Best regards, Bob |
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