Do you believe the DTM (Days to Maturity) ?
daniel_nyc
9 years ago
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Vince (8) Kemper
9 years agoRelated Discussions
DTM days to maturity inaccuracy
Comments (7)I always rather thought they based dtm on growing out the seeds themselves and recording average dtm. And I figured that since my conditions are not exactly the same as anywhere else, the dtm is just a guideline. And since the weather can vary so much from year to year, how could I expect the same dtm from the same seed in a cold, wet spring versus a warm, mild spring? I do use it to make decisions: if I want to have a long corn harvest and to only sow the seed once, then I get 2-3 different cultivars with different dtm. If I were picking from the Johnnys catalog I'd probably go with Spring Treat at 66 dtm, Lucious at 75 dtm, and Silver Queen at 91 dtm. Even if the the actual dtm varies from what is stated, they will all be growing in the same conditions and have roughly the same spacing in harvests as indicated by the catalog's dtm. I think the trouble lies in the expectations of new gardeners for things to be hard and fast and quantifiable... Like expecting dtm to be exact, watering to happen on a strict schedule and to provide an unwavering amount, hours of light for seedlings to be set in stone (regardless of the type of fixture used), how many of each plant to provide enough food for a person......See MoreMaking sense of Days to Maturity malarky
Comments (5)In my opinion DTM's are pure guesstimates. Weather and many other variables can and do determine DTM. You posted a link to Paul's time sequence, which I've linked to here many times, but what you've got there is maybe a rough guideline b'c that result was from one season only, growing the way Paul grows his tomatoes, in his soil, with the weather in that season, with his source of seeds, using the amendments he did, etc. Paul used to post here, but no more as far as I've seen lately. I've had lates mature before mids and mids mature before earlies. If you were to look at ONE variety in the SSE Yearbook where lots of folks are listing it you'd see DTM;s all over the lot which just reflects varying geographic locations, soil, weather, way of growing tomatoes, seed source and on and on. ( smile) I much prefer to see a spread of days, say: Early; 55-65, roughly Midseason; 65 to 80, roughly Late; over 80 days Just my opinion on this controversial subject which comes up all the time, and I guess well it should/ ( smile) Carolyn...See MoreDays to Maturity/ Tomatoes
Comments (5)Ahhhhh! The age old 60 million dollar question! When I was a youngster, it was the 60 thousand dollar question. But with inflation and the recent slump of the US dollar against world currency, it has become the 60 million dollar question. The real answer is CUMILATIVE GROWING DEGREE DAYS. If you add them up from the transplant date to maturity, it will be right on year to year. Trouble is, year to year, the total will vary say from May 15th to July 15th. Therefore the maturity date will vary....See Moredays to harvest / maturity?
Comments (13)I'm in 6b/7a, and the oldtimers around here still swear that tomatoes don't go out until Memorial Day. Go figure. Last year, for reasons I didn't intend, I didn't get my plants out until the first week of June. I had tons of tomatoes by August. In addition, a killing frost didn't happen until practically the beginning of November last year, so I had a long and productive season. The thing is, around here, a late plant-out will work most years. The change in seasons is fast--it very quickly becomes warm, not like places where spring limps along with above-freezing-but-still-cool weather for a long time. It's not great for veggies that like cool weather, but it works great for tomatoes, peppers, etc. And summer is hot but not so brutal that production shuts down entirely. Plus, we reliably get good tomato weather through September and, in recent years, even well into October. So a tomato plant put out late here grows quickly and produces fairly quickly and well. However, in other places that have the same zone but different warming and cooling patterns,, this may not be the case. If frost comes early or if summer heat is a real problem, that may not work. Glenn and Linda Drowns of Sandhill Preservation are in 5b in Iowa. But they say they start their tomatoes mid-May now and don't plant them out until mid-June. Apparently, they have fewer disease issues with this schedule and still get plenty of tomatoes. It works for them. *shrug* Long story short: everything about gardening is about the details of local conditions. Zone is important information but far from the complete picture....See Moredaniel_nyc
9 years agoJennie Sims
9 years agogrubby_AZ Tucson Z9
9 years agodaniel_nyc
9 years agoNitsua
9 years agoJennie Sims
9 years agoSeysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
9 years agoVince (8) Kemper
9 years agowormgirl_8a_WA
9 years ago
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