What is the general "cut off" point on starting tomato plants?

[cythaenopsis]

I'm sorry if this is a way too basic question (I'm a bit of a newbie). Browsing around the large garden centers, I still see a number of small tomato plants on the shelf waiting to be bought. Isn't it too late for that? Or is the expectation that you could grow a tomato plant starting in early July (as opposed to May) to producing about half a normal crop and consider it worthwhile to bother?

Also, earlier on I pulled a good 4" sucker from my Black Krim and then stuck it in water to see what it would do. Sure enough, after about 10 days there was a good array of inch long roots. So I potted it. And now, it's about a 6" seedling and near ready for a larger pot. I'm suspecting it's too late in the season now, but I may just give it a go to see what happens.

Anyway, assuming a NY/NJ growing zone, is there any kind of general rule on the latest date where you can start a seedling and expect a fairly decent amount of fruit in return by the early autumn? For instance, July 1st?

[claherron]

We are in totally different zones of course but I am planning on putting some toms in the ground around 1 sept. is suspect the ones planted now will get smashed in The August heat.


http://www.almanac.com/content/frost...-united-states

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[ScottinAtlanta]

I am still starting tomatoes - our growing season is through October.

[cythaenopsis]

^ Ah, OK. I think our growing season is through September, because I remember my mother still picking tomatoes at the end of the month out on Eastern Long Island. But I imagine there's an inherent advantage with containers, whereby with the onset of cooler temperatures you can bring them inside and allow for fruit ripening to continue for a few more weeks. And of course, if you have a greenhouse, you can probably grow for 10 months out of the year.

[COMPOSTER]

If you have the space go for it. I'm currently experimenting to find my own answer to this question. I have transplants of 3 hybrid varieties that were put in the ground 7/6. I started seeds of Lucia grape tomato (54 days to maturity) on 6/23 to test a new batch of compost. I'm going to transplant those around 7/21. I did a similar experiment last year with Bloody Butcher plants, but transplanted the first week of August. I had a lot of tomatoes that were just starting to ripen before I lost them to frost.

If you choose to do it, write down your dates, varieties and yield so you can share the info.

Glenn

[Lee]

A couple things to keep in mind....

1. Plants will grow faster in the warmer months as opposed to starting in May. (ie date to maturity will be less if the starting point is July vs May.)

2. The heat and/or disease pressure more prevalent in the summer months could reduce/prevent pollination and/or fruit set.
For example, I pulled a plant a couple of weeks ago due to poor performance and replaced it with a different transplant. This transplant is not growing to well because it seems to have picked up Septoria. The larger neighbor plants are dealing with the Septoria OK, but the new seedling is struggling....

All these issues are impacted by the zone you are in as well. So, experiment as others have suggested, and good luck!

Lee

[b54red]

We are in a totally different zone and I have planted as late as the first of September but usually the first week in August is my cutoff if I want any ripe fruit for sure. A lot can depend on how quickly it cools down in the fall. The cooler fall weather will slow ripening a good bit so fruit that formerly only took a few days to go from green to ripe might take two weeks or even longer.

Bill

[discoprincess]

Originally Posted by cythaenopsis

Anyway, assuming a NY/NJ growing zone, is there any kind of general rule on the latest date where you can start a seedling and expect a fairly decent amount of fruit in return by the early autumn? For instance, July 1st?

I would think it depends on the variety and the DTM involved. I recently transplanted a Purple Russian and two or three mystery plants. The Purple Russian might be pushing it because of the 80 DTM.

We had a cooler than normal spring here in NYC. If we were to get a good Indian summer, that'd be good for tomatoes, but if cool fall weather starts sooner than usual, then that could be a problem.

What about starting a small variety like a Tiny Tim and overwintering it?

[Tormato]

'sis,

I'm a bit north of you (Massachusetts).

The latest I've started seeds is the about the 1st of June, transplanting about the 1st of July. SunGold has been my best producing variety for such a late start, ripening about the 1st of September and going until frost.

Dr. Lve Apple

[tomatoguy]

I live in Zone 7A, Tennessee. I would be hesitant to start any plants after June 15th, because of the heat. If I was retired and had time to water in the morning and evening, I could probably make it work. I guess we will find out in a couple of years.

mater

[cythaenopsis]

Great to hear a nice range of advice--thanks! I think I'll give it a go. I may also try a few things differently and see if they grow faster and fuller than my originals. Worst comes to worse, they'll not do much, but it'll be a learning experience.

Good idea about taking notes on the growing, Glenn. I started a blog already so it'll be good material to add.

DP, I hadn't considered the days to maturity. Black Krim is about 75-80 so I'm probably not going to get much trying to grow a seedling so late. I do have one tomato that is ripening and seems to be on target for finishing for a total of 60 days. So if I can get some fruit going by the 1st week of August then I can harvest in late September into October, especially if the warmer weather in July/August encourages faster growth.

I have some seeds that I'm planning to use next growing season and was tempted to start some last week, but... I'm feeling like it's a bit too late in my region. I don't want to get ahead of myself and waste perfectly good seeds.