concur: most mainstream North American seed vendors will use maturity dates based on traditional growing methods. Those that are traditionally transplanted like tomatoes . peppers, eggplants, cabbages etc will be from transplant date. Those that are normally direct seeded will be from emergence. That said you will find a few that sell primarily to processors that will give direct seed maturity dates. If you see a tomato listed at 135 days, you will know that you have encountered one of those. Maturity dates are at best guesstimates. They vary widely under growing conditions. You will find a few vendors that list maturity dates for spring planting and a second maturity for fall planting. Maturity dates are great for comparing varities of a specific plant, but not very useful for planning harvest dates. Don't figure that if you have a 30 day radish, you will have a complete harvest in 35 days. Most assume ideal condition. Also not even the most modern hybrids all grow at the same rate. Some of them may be ready at 30 days, some at 35, other straggle along later.

I agree with you, however, those questions were for the purpose of knowing what will happen if a day or two happens with such a scenario as mentioned above. I was not too sure that why I put it that way. As for the germination. some of my seeds (tomato, pepper, cucumber) have actually germinated just today. I am thinking of providing them with 2 hours of early morning sun and then bringing them inside the house for about 3 weeks when the temperature gets a bit better. They will actually be outside in a container - not in any garden as I dont have any such place. Is what I am planning good enough way to proceed further. Unfortunately, I have no grow lights so that is not a choice for me. How should the seedlings be kept after those 2 hours of early morning sunlight? I mean should they be in a well lit room - no grow lights? near a window sill having no direct sunlight? outside under shade until the temperature really shoots up - like untill 10am and then brought back? Be in the dark, so that they dont stretch towards light. Appreciate your experienced input. Just a reminder, the temperature from sunrise starts off at about 70-75F and rises upto 100F by noon. So that is why I am not thinking of keeping them beyond two hours (the temperature is expected to be in the early 80s by then)

I just asked my former greenhouse employer this question, taking some examples along to demonstrate, and she explained that plants in smaller pots-their roots will actually dry out before roots in the larger pots will (whether I realize it or not)and when the roots begin to dry like that, the plant will stop growing. Whereas, the larger potted plant has not dried out, and continues to grow. Apparantly, it takes some time for the smaller plant to begin growing again, after it has had this "dry spell"?? Okay, now I make sure my plants are watered when they need it, but apparantly, it must begin to dry out all around the edges of that pot, just as terra cotta pots dry out very quickly. This would make sense to me. I mean, the plants look perfectly fine, but there is some drying going on inside the pot, around the edges. Can anyone elaborate on this?? I would think this knowledge would be vital to anyone growing plants, to know exactly what size pots to use for what plants. However, you see the exact same size plant growing in all different size pots for sale in nurseries, and apparantly will reach different size growth based upon their conditions when being transplanted. I mean, if you choose to put all seedlings directly into cell packs, from my observation, the plants will grow tall, upright, and rather skinny. I have grown cell plants forYEARS, and used them in all my gardening needs, and they have been fine. This year, I started taking some of those cells plants, transplanting them again into 4 inch pots once they got so big, and the leaves were touching. BUT, what I am examining is, putting them into the cell packs rather than the larger pots causes an entirely different kind of growth. Wouldnt this difference in growth cause the plant to continue growing "differently"??? I mean, a tall skinny transplant is not getting as filled out as the transplants in larger pots; wouldnt this cause an irreversable difference in the two plants?? I know that plant get pinched to cause them to get busy. I pinch the center stems at a certain height. But on the plants in the larger pots, this doesnt even seem necessary, they appear to bush out on their own. I am also curious what effect using a way too big of a pot will do for a seedling. I mean, will it just continue to grow and grow uninterrupted? I would think too large of a pot compared to a tiny seedling would have major moisture fluctuations in the pot. But I am no expert, that is why I am here asking you! I would like to understand this from a scientific perspective, like how the roots function in this. I think it is valuable information. Thank you!

Hi, nopeda123! There are several versions of Rutgers. I don't know if any are single-crop or double-crop; the one I've grown had continuous production. It sounds like you're starting seeds: if purchased at a store, what brand are they? If purchased from a catalog or seed-seller, who did you buy them from? What is the exact variety name on the packet? Does the packet say "Indeterminate," "Determinate," or "Semi-determinate"? As far as I'm concerned, the only reason to prune a tomato (i.e. limit its yield) is lack of space and/or size of container and/or the limitations of your support system. So how large (in gallons ... or height and width ... or whatever) are the containers you'll be growing them in? How do you plan to support or cage them, and how wide is the space they'll be able to expand into? Do you have the containers already, and if so, how large are they? Last question: what's your USDA zone -- or failing that, where do you live? If you post it in your GW account (the "Garden Zone" box on the "Edit Your Membership Details" page), we won't have to keep asking you. 8-D Just enter your zip code here to find your zone: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/