Tomatoes That Continue to Bear Fruit
When deciding which type of tomato to plant, one thing that should be considered is how long it will take before you are able to harvest. If you are impatient like me, planting several varieties with varying days to maturity will help ensure that you are getting tomatoes throughout your season.
Most varieties of tomatoes take between 70 – 80 days from transplant to harvest. This will depend mostly on the chosen variety, growing conditions in your area as well as the availability of sunlight, water, and fertilizer.
Tomatoes are warm-weather crops that love lots of sunshine. Many varieties will produce until nighttime temperatures drop below 55 degrees Farenheight.
The tomato growing process has 4 stages: seedling, flowering, fruiting and ripening.
At the end of this post, I have a quick reference table that shows popular tomato varieties and their overall days to maturity.
Seedling Stage
The seedling stage encompasses seed germination to seedlings being able to be transplanted outdoors. The germination process is where the seed breaks open and begins to produce the roots, stem, and leaves of the plant. Tomatoes typically germinate in about 5 to 10 days if planted in optimal growing conditions. You should anticipate that not all of your seedlings will emerge, so plant more than one seed to increase your chances.
Once the seedlings have started to emerge, the tomato plants will have another 4-5 weeks that they should continue to grow before being transplanted outside. When your seedlings are approximately 3-4 inches in height, it is time to start thinking about moving them outdoors. Make sure that the nighttime temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit before making this move.
Flowering Stage
Once you have moved your plants outdoors, expect to wait for another 20 to 30 days for the flowering to begin. Tomatoes will grow little yellow flowers that indicate that the plant is ready to start producing fruit. Tomatoes are self-fertile, meaning that both male and female parts are present in each flower. It is easier for factors such as wind and insects to pollinate the flowers. You can also help mother nature along by giving them gentle wiggle yourself.
Fruiting Stage
This stage is where the small yellow flowers are replaced with tiny green fruit all the way to it growing to full size. This stage typically takes 20 to 50 days. It is important to mention here that there are 2 different categories of tomatoes that dictate how the fruiting stage will play out.
Determinate Tomatoes – these varieties are more like a bush plant that usually grow about 3′ – 5′ tall. When the flowers bloom at the top of the branches, the tomato has reached its maximum height. Determinant tomatoes have fruit that all ripen at once (usually within a 2 week time period). They require less maintenance as pruning will not necessarily prolong the life of the plant. Once determinate tomatoes stop producing, their growing season is over.
Because their growth is somewhat fixed in nature, determinate tomatoes are ideal for growing in smaller spaces or in containers. Don't be fooled, however, this does not mean that they will not need some sort of support for growth. Tomato cages may still be needed depending on the variety grown.
Indeterminate Tomatoes – these varieties are the vine variety and as the name suggests, will grow for an indeterminate amount of time. Some indeterminate varieties can grow between 6′ – 20′ tall! They will continue to grow all season until the growing conditions get too cold for them to continue. Indeterminate tomatoes require more maintenance to keep them growing. Pruning is key to prolonging the life of your indeterminate plant.
As you can see, by planting both determinate and indeterminate tomato plants, you can have a variety of tomatoes growing throughout the season.
Ripening Stage
The ripening stage of a tomato is where it turns from green to yellow, orange, red, or pink, depending on the type that is chosen. Tomatoes will ripen on the vine, however, they are also able to be ripened indoors. The optimal ripening temperature for tomatoes is between 70 – 75 degrees. When nighttime temperatures stay above 85 – 90 degrees, the ripening process can slow down or even stop.
In order for tomatoes to ripen, lycopene and carotene pigments need to be produced. This will not happen if the temperature is too hot. If you have periods of high heat with no end in sight, you can pull them off of the vine and ripen them indoors under more favorable conditions.
A quick way to get your tomatoes to ripen indoors is to put them in an enclosed area with other ripening fruit such as bananas. Bananas naturally release ethylene gas when it is ripening and this gas will help speed up the ripening process for your tomatoes as well.
Below is a table to show the popular tomato varieties and their days to maturity. Remember, by planting different types of tomatoes (determinate and indeterminate) you can guarantee yourself more delicious tomatoes to enjoy for the entire season.
| Tomato Variety | Days To Maturity | Determinate / Indeterminate |
| Better Boy | 75 | Indeterminate |
| Big Beef Tomato | 73 | Indeterminate |
| Big Boy | 78 | Indeterminate |
| Celebrity | 70 | Determinate |
| Early Girl | 50-52 | Indeterminate |
| Grape | 60 | Indeterminate |
| Independence Day | 49 | Indeterminate |
| Rutgers (Jersey) | 75 | Determinate |
| Juliet | 60 | Indeterminate |
| Sun Gold | 60 | Indeterminate |
| Amish Paste | 85 | Indeterminate |
| Black Krim | 69-80 | Indeterminate |
| Brandywine | 69-80 | Indeterminate |
| Cherokee Purple | 69-80 | Indeterminate |
| Green Zebra | 78 | Determinate |
| Mortgage Lifter | 85 | Indeterminate |
| San Marzano | 85 | Indeterminate |
| Yellow Pear | 71 | Indeterminate |
| Campari Cultivar | 70 – 80 | Indeterminate |
| Gardener's Delight | 65 | Indeterminate |
| Mr. Stripey | 80 | Indeterminate |
| German Johnson | 76-80 | Indeterminate |
| Hillbilly | 85-94 | Indeterminate |
| Big Rainbow | 85 | Indeterminate |
| Sunny Boy | 75 | Indeterminate |
| Cherry | 67-70 | Indeterminate |
| Roma | 76 | Determinate |
| Little Mama | 70 | Indeterminate |
| Big Pink | 75 | Indeterminate |
Source: https://bleepsandblooms.com/how-long-does-it-take-tomatoes-to-bear-fruit/
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