How much time do you think it will take for my cherry tomatoes to start flowering?
[img]https://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/evo_flo/IMG01447-20101205-1453.jpg[/img]
I know it is not such a good picture but the tomato is the biggest one and that picture y from about a week ago so it has grown about 2 inches, but how long will it take to start flower?.
Cheers.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Depends a whole lot on conditions and how they are doing. You are right, not a great picture, but looking at the plant in the bottom right corner that you can see the stem clearest, I can tell you those plants are not getting as much light as they would like. It is getting leggy, with long internodes (stem length between the branches). If you can increase the light they are getting, that may trigger flowering.
It's based on a correlation between the amount of PAR light and temps (and of course, nuits and soil).
Trying to keep it simple, say the plants are getting 14 hours of light with an intensity of 2500 foot candles. They will need from 1200-1800 Growing Degree Days to bloom and another 600 GDD to ripen. To determine your GDDs, take your average daily temp and subtract 50 (or 52, or 55 - opinions vary). If your low is 70 and your high 80, your average temp is 75. That would give you 25 GDD. In about 40 days from transplant, you should see blooms, or at least blooms forming.
Again, there are variables, especially lighting. I use only MH for growing.
Mike
Trying to keep it simple, say the plants are getting 14 hours of light with an intensity of 2500 foot candles. They will need from 1200-1800 Growing Degree Days to bloom and another 600 GDD to ripen. To determine your GDDs, take your average daily temp and subtract 50 (or 52, or 55 - opinions vary). If your low is 70 and your high 80, your average temp is 75. That would give you 25 GDD. In about 40 days from transplant, you should see blooms, or at least blooms forming.
Again, there are variables, especially lighting. I use only MH for growing.
Mike
Roughly, DTM is based on average temps and sunlight levels (presuming plants are grown in optimal conditions as far as soil, nuits and waterfall).
What I wrote is more about indoor gardening, where the temps, water, nuits, lighting can be controlled. The lighting part is based on the book "Lighting Up Profits" which goes in-depth about Daily Light Integral and how much different plants need.
FWIW, I have found it to be pretty close to true.
Mike
What I wrote is more about indoor gardening, where the temps, water, nuits, lighting can be controlled. The lighting part is based on the book "Lighting Up Profits" which goes in-depth about Daily Light Integral and how much different plants need.
FWIW, I have found it to be pretty close to true.
Mike
applestar,
Different varieties require more or fewer GDDs. A real early variety may need 900, a late-season 2100. Of course, this is an average. Rainfall, humidity, the amount of sunlight can make a difference. [url]https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/gdd/gdd2new.asp#tenpercent[/url] shows when some trees and plants first bloom, but it doesn't show veggies
Perhaps an interesting exercise for 2011 would be to have people chart their GDDs (most Extension offices list the data like the link shows), and when different veggies bloom and ripen. We could start a database for different varieties.
Mike
Different varieties require more or fewer GDDs. A real early variety may need 900, a late-season 2100. Of course, this is an average. Rainfall, humidity, the amount of sunlight can make a difference. [url]https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/gdd/gdd2new.asp#tenpercent[/url] shows when some trees and plants first bloom, but it doesn't show veggies
Perhaps an interesting exercise for 2011 would be to have people chart their GDDs (most Extension offices list the data like the link shows), and when different veggies bloom and ripen. We could start a database for different varieties.
Mike
Hi,
I don't think that my tomatoes are leggy they receive plenty of sun all morning and afternoon but ok I'll follow your advice and just to try it I put a light that is for my iguana and it is suposed to work, and I repeat I don't think they are leggy or think that it is a warmth or lighting problem.
Anyway here are some more pics to show you the size of my tomato plant and some little mm I don't know bulbs or dots in my plant that I think are going to be flowers but here are the pics for you to give your opinion.
[img]https://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/evo_flo/IMG01468-20101211-1602.jpg[/img]
Here you can see which one is the biggest.
[img]https://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/evo_flo/IMG01463-20101211-1601.jpg[/img]
And there are the liiittle dots or bulbs, you can see there's 4 dots, what area those things going to be?.
Cheers.
I don't think that my tomatoes are leggy they receive plenty of sun all morning and afternoon but ok I'll follow your advice and just to try it I put a light that is for my iguana and it is suposed to work, and I repeat I don't think they are leggy or think that it is a warmth or lighting problem.
Anyway here are some more pics to show you the size of my tomato plant and some little mm I don't know bulbs or dots in my plant that I think are going to be flowers but here are the pics for you to give your opinion.
[img]https://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/evo_flo/IMG01468-20101211-1602.jpg[/img]
Here you can see which one is the biggest.
[img]https://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r389/evo_flo/IMG01463-20101211-1601.jpg[/img]
And there are the liiittle dots or bulbs, you can see there's 4 dots, what area those things going to be?.
Cheers.