Tomatoes are known to be the most popular vegetables grown in gardens. Based on the variety, it can take tomatoes between 2 – 3 months of warm climate for them to reach the harvest stage from transplanting. The harvest season may last for several weeks before the declination of fruit production and this depends on the cultivar. There are two main factors that affect how long it takes for tomatoes to harvest which are:
- Environmental conditions coupled with the type of care received by the plant
- Different varieties/ cultivars possess different days-to-harvest
If given the right conditions and some maintenance throughout the season, tomatoes can produce crops in abundance. They also take little space to grow. They are normally grown as an annual warm-season vegetable for the fruits they produce through the end of the growing season.
Gardeners make their choice on varieties based on their preferences and the kind of climate in their location. Cultivars which take lesser growing days and mature fast before the temperatures start dropping in the fall are beneficial for cooler zones.
Tomato seeds are started indoors about 6 – 8 weeks before the expected date of the last spring frost. 2 – 3 weeks after the last spring frost, the seedlings are transplanted. Starting from the time of transplanting, it can take tomatoes 50 – 80 days or more for them to reach maturity and deliver their first harvest.
Tip: Learn How To Make Tomatoes Grow Fast
TYPES OF TOMATOES BASED ON GROWING DAYS
1) Early Season Tomatoes: They take 65 days or less to grow from transplanting to harvest.
2) Main Season Tomatoes: They take between 70 – 79 days with warm temperatures to attain maturity and yield their first harvest. Learn more about harvesting tomatoes here.
3) Late Season Tomatoes: They take the longest time to grow and require above 80 days of warm temperatures to produce a good crop.
HOW LONG DO TOMATO PLANTS TAKE TO BEAR FRUITS?
Tomatoes are warm-season crops and will fail to bear fruits if the nighttime temperatures fall to that below 55°F. The transplants are set in the garden and this happens around mid-spring.
Until the temperatures are suitable for fruit development, the plants concentrate their energy on producing foliage and gaining height. It takes 30 – 45 days for the plants to produce flowers from the time the transplants are set out for many varieties.
The appearance of those yellowish flowers gives a signal that the fruits are appearing soon. About 9 – 12 days after, a bump appears on the center of the tomato flowers and that bump seen is a tiny tomato.
This isn’t all as it will still take some time for the tiny tomato to develop into a ripe fruit. Within 20 – 30 days, the fruits will grow bigger and ripen. In summary, it can take up to 38 – 57 days for the plants to produce their first tiny fruits once the transplants in the garden have been set out around mid-spring.
CONCLUSION
I hope you find this article useful. I would like to hear from you. So, let me know if you have any questions. Also, learn how to plant tomatoes in the ground.
