sdcisa
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Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:44 pm
Location: INDIA

Whats the life cycle of a tomato plant

Usually how long will ittake for a tomato plant to reach flower stage and fruit. I have sowed the seeds in the month of July and its an adult plant of 8inches.
I wish to know when it will blossom and produce the fruit. :o

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

8" is hardly an adult plant and you have a long way to go before flower and fruit. Of course there are a lot of different kinds of tomato plants including dwarf/ patio versions, cherry tomatoes etc. But the typical tomato plant gets at least 6' tall and bushy. You will need to stake/ cage it. It will be producing before it is that big.

The timeline for mine (which may be quite different than it would be for you, because I start mine indoors in winter under lights and then it is still pretty cold when I move them outdoors):

Plant seed mid-late Feb indoors
Transplant the plants, then around 18 inches tall, in the ground mid-late April
They will start flowering soon after that, by early may.
Late May -beginning of June first small fruits
Three weeks later ripe tomatoes

Here's a site that shows a time line of a developing tomato from tiny flower bud (unopened) to ripe tomato

https://www.tomatosite.com/index.php?NT=Cultivation&RE=Truss_Timeline

for them that was 57 days. That can be affected by variety of tomato (some are faster maturing than others) and conditions. But at least for us here in US, it isn't a bad estimate.

Be patient! :) Be glad you aren't growing bell peppers, they are even slower.



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