How Long for Tomatoes to Form?

Indeterminate Varieties

• Older, heirloom tomatoes are usually indeterminate. Flowers grow laterally along the vines and the plant grows taller even after the fruit appears. These tomatoes take longer to mature but produce tasty and juicy fruit. Indeterminates are rarely grown from seeds but begin life in greenhouses and are then planted outdoors to grow. Days to full maturity are measured from the time the tomato plant is placed outside in the garden soil. Flowers and fruit may appear on the vines before transplantation and should be removed to encourage leaf production.

Determinate Varieties

• Tomatoes that ripen more quickly are usually determinate. With these varieties, blossoms appear at the ends of the vines and the plant ceases to grow taller. Determinates ripen fruit in a shorter period of time, making them ideal in climates that suffer early and late season frosts. Fruit emergence in all varieties depends upon heat levels, number of sunlight hours and the amount of rainfall available to the plants. Ideal growing temperatures for flower and fruit production is in the 75 to 85 degree F range.

Tomato Formation

• Tomatoes form at various times according to species and growing conditions. Fruit emergence is directly related to the number of days it takes to carry a plant from outdoor transplantation to harvest. First Early Reds take 60 or fewer days to harvest. Medium Early Reds mature in 60 to 69 days. Main Crop Reds require 70 to 79 days and Extra Large Reds may require up to 81 days. Yellow, orange and pink tomatoes require from 70 to 80 days to mature. Dwarf varieties mature from 45 to 72 days after transplantation.

Variety Examples

• Early Girl, an indeterminate, first early red variety, matures to full size in 55 days. Champion, an indeterminate, medium early red, requires 65 days. Celebrity, a main crop red determinate matures in 70 days. Supersteak, an extra-large indeterminate, requires 80 days. Mountain Gold, a determinate, matures to a deep orange color in 70 days. Pink Girl, an indeterminate, provides flavorful pink fruit in 76 days. Tiny Tim, a determinate dwarf, takes 45 days for its cherry-sized fruit to mature.