How Long Does It Take to Grow Tomatoes From Seed?

One of the most common questions asked about growing tomatoes is, of course, when will you have tomatoes??? There are so many people that don’t understand how long it can take to actually produce a single tomato. So how long does it take to grow tomatoes from seed?

How Long Does It Take to Grow Tomatoes From Seed?

One of the most common questions asked about growing tomatoes is, of course, when will you have tomatoes??? There are so many people that don’t understand how long it can take to actually produce a single tomato. So how long does it take to grow tomatoes from seed? 

How long it takes to grow tomatoes depends on the variety. Tomato varieties’ days to harvest range from about 60 to 100 days. There are a few varieties that do take less than 60 days, but usually they fall within the range of 60 to 100 days.

Days to harvest is calculated from the transplanting date into your garden to the days the variety matures and produces ripe fruit that’s ready to eat. Once you take the plant out of its container from the store, or the pot you started your seeds in, and put it in your garden, that’s when the countdown to harvest begins. This is true for both tomato plants started from seeds and those purchased as seedlings. 

For more specifics on varieties and days to harvest, check out this post.

Let’s take a look at the specifics of growing tomatoes from seed.

Sowing the Seeds

On every packet of seed, it should tell you how exactly to sow your seeds. The packet includes the following information on it:

• Where to sow the seeds – indoor versus outdoors. Unless you live in a mild climate, seed packets will recommend starting your seeds indoors and how many weeks to sow the seeds before transplanting them outside. For mild climates, you’ll be able to direct sow them outside.
• Next, it specifies the days to emerge, meaning how many days it’ll take for the seed to sprout and come up from underneath the soil
• Seed depth – the packet indicates how deep to sow the seed. Each type of seed is different. In general, larger seeds may be sowed deeper, while smaller seeds may be only pressed into the surface of the soil. For tomato seeds, they’re usually sowed about ¼ inch below the surface. Sowing the seeds at the correct depth is important. If they are sowed too deep, they may not have the energy to emerge out of the soil and hence no seedling.
• Seed spacing – it tells you how far apart seeds need to be spaced when they are being sown.
• Row spacing – how much space to have in between each row of plants. Seedlings grow into bigger plants and you’ll need the right amount of space to avoid overplanting.
• Thinning – it will tell you whether or not to thin out the seedlings once they’ve emerged. Thinning out the seedlings helps to reduce overcrowding/overplanting of plants as well.

Factors that Affect Germination

How long it takes your seeds to germinate (sprout, grow, and put out shoots) can be affected by a few factors. Those factors can be:

• Environmental, such as rain and temperature. Less than ideal conditions can cause the seed to either take longer to germinate or not germinate at all.
• Old seeds may take longer to germinate or not germinate.
• Immature seeds – there are seeds that may be too immature, meaning they don’t have all the parts necessary to be able to germinate.
• Chemicals, pests, and pathogens – all three can kill off seeds.

If the right conditions are provided for the seeds, they will germinate. They’ll also need proper lighting and watering before they can be set outside. It can take a good 4 to 8 weeks for the seedling to continue to grow before it can be put outside. The number of weeks tomatoes will be growing indoors is determined by how many weeks from your last frost date you decide to start your seeds.

When Can Tomatoes be Transplanted Outside?

The best way to set yourself up for success is to know your area’s last frost date. Putting tomatoes outside when it’s too cold will kill your plants! Determine your area’s frost date and count back the recommended weeks to sow. For example, a seed packet may recommend sowing seeds 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date.

As an example, let’s say you decide to sow your seed 6 weeks before your frost date. It took 5 days for your seeds to germinate. It’s now time to transplant, but first you have to harden off your plants. By the time the hardening of your plant begins, it’s already about 50 days old. 

Hardening off plants is the process of slowly introducing them to the elements (the outside world). Plants that have been indoors can not be immediately put out in the sun, wind, rain, etc. Seedlings are very sensitive to the outdoor elements and if they are exposed to quickly they become sunburned, drowned out, and break from the wind. 

Yes, plants get sunburn too! If the sunburn is too severe, they will die.

Hardening the plants takes about 7 to 12 days. So at minimum, your plants are about 57 days old since you sowed them.

Days to Harvest

At the time you transplant your tomato plant the countdown to a tomato harvest begins. Remember, days to harvest is calculated from the time of the transplant into your garden to the days the variety matures and produces ripe fruit that’s ready to eat. 

The earliest tomato is the subarctic tomato. This variety is a determinate variety bred in Canada that is disease-resistant. It’s dubbed the “world’s earliest tomato” with an estimated harvest of 42 days! Subarctic produces 4 ounce red fruit that has a tangy flavor. The longest harvest can be about 110 days.

Factoring in all of the above, it can take about 100 to 167 days to grow tomatoes from start to finish from seed.