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Ely Mn

When do you all start counting the tomatoes first day?
At first sight?the size of a penny?

6/28/2015 9:13:59 PM

I start as I see them at first sight.

6/28/2015 9:15:25 PM

I am already noticing many on my plants.

6/28/2015 9:15:49 PM

Lebanon, Oregon

Good question! It is difficult for me to know exactly when pollination takes place. I'm a newer tomato grower so I had to pick some way to start dap. I see a nice megabloom, I flick it with my finger to "shake around" the pollen. Maybe it does something, maybe it doesn't. It probably would of done fine on it's own. A couple of days later the yellow petals turn a little brown and I pull them off and see small tomatoes. That's the first time I see them and I start dap a day before that, if that makes sense.

6/28/2015 9:57:36 PM

Allentown, PA

I count DAP beginning at the first visible growth after fruit set. For example you have a mega bloom that has shed itself and you see a tomato forming.

I then wait until I see that tomato increasing in size to begin my DAP count.

You wait until you see visible growth due to many mega blooms aborting at that stage.

6/29/2015 6:34:13 AM

Princeton Kentucky

I always thought DAP meant DAP "Days After Pollination" unless your letting the flowers open pollinate then its whatever it is. I know that some folks might have different opinions on when their tomatoes took but I personaly look at it as what it means, "DAP". I'll bet too thats why I have higher dap #'s than others do. I close bag pollinate with compressed air so I know the pollin is gettin where it needs to go. Barry white Record helps too,lol. It may take up to a week to see any change on some tomatoes. I personally whatch the bend in the stem right before the bloom to tell if it has taken. Any sign of yellow or browning and it has aborted, if that stem area at the bend stays green its a sure bet it took. I'll second Garden Rebel in saying its a good question and honestly even with my loose opinion its a toss up on the actual time it takes for the tomato to respond either way. I do know at minimum from past experience it takes a few days to see fruit from a bloom and to me personaly its then been a few "DAP". IMHO. Good Luck to you all this season, your a bunch of Really Good Folks who have taught me alot on Giant Tomato Growin!!

6/29/2015 2:25:44 PM

Allentown, PA

Yes I see how you count.

For me I guess I don't know that it successfully pollinated until I see visible growth. That's when I personally begin counting. I guess we all have differing ways of doing this.

6/29/2015 3:16:26 PM

Wixom MI.

If you wait till you see a tomato take, that is already day one or day two if you use a tooth brush or other method to polinate, that is dap.

6/29/2015 6:58:40 PM

Allentown, PA

I use an electric toothbrush to assist in pollination. With that being said many times it takes more than one day in which to fully pollinate a mega bloom.
The interim time used in which to work on pollinating a mega bloom in my opinion cannot be counted as DAP because DAP stands for Days After Pollination and if you are still in the period of time of pollination this time cannot be counted simply because the mega bloom is not yet pollinated.

6/29/2015 7:10:32 PM

Wixom MI.

I think myself i will count day one when i see the tomato showing itself at fist site. To me it is begining to swell and pollonation has occured. They may still abort, but so do pumpkins.now we need charts on were a tomato should be at day 10, day 15 day 20 etc... so we can tell how are tomatoes compair !!!

6/29/2015 7:57:11 PM

Allentown, PA

I agree.The key is to nail down exactly when to begin counting.

6/29/2015 8:07:52 PM

Buffalo, MN (Billsbigpumpkins@hotmail.com)

the only thing that is consistent is the day it starts to bloom. With a mega bloom it may take a week or two to complete the pollination cycle and to start dropping it's flowers.

6/29/2015 8:36:20 PM

Allentown, PA

I agree Bill.

6/29/2015 8:52:44 PM

Ely Mn

Great feedback guys!
I do exactly what you do Julia.

6/29/2015 9:58:46 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

I think of DAP as days after pollination. It then takes about 2 o0r 3 days for the ovules to actually be fertilized and then 4 of 5 more days to see growth of the tomato. It doesn't really matter all that much though since the time from pollination and then actual fertilization until you harvest the tomato depends very much on the weather. If it is hot the tomato ripens earlier and if not so hot then later. Heat does not speed up the growth of the tomato but it does speed up ripening. So hot weather, earlier and smaller tomatoes. Cooler weather, later and bigger tomatoes.

6/29/2015 10:17:55 PM

Allentown, PA

Dan, yeah I don't see how one could use a different counting system in that regard.

6/30/2015 6:22:15 AM

Allentown, PA

Marv, yes I see what you're saying. I guess we are really attempting to pin down exactly when to begin counting days after pollination.

6/30/2015 6:24:04 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

I don't think you can absolutely pin this down. First of all, when is a blossom really open? The answer to this is that it is really open when the pistil is capable of receiving pollen. But can you tell this by looking? Also the blossom can be pollinated but that does not guarantee fertilization. The pollen has to germinate and grow to the ovules. This takes several days. It may or not successfully do this. When it does the tomato begins to grow but how good are we at seeing this? Maybe it takes a day or two and one grower sees it on day one and another can't see it until day two. What I am trying to say is that the whole thing is not as scientific as we might like it to be. And when you talk about days after pollination, pollination does not guarantee fertilization unless you mean successful pollination. And if you are really trying to get to the answer of when will my tomato ripen, none of this is nearly as important as the weather. The number of days between seeing a blossom open and seeing a small tomato is probably around 7 days, two days for fertilization after pollination and about 5 more days until someone actually sees the little tomato growing. I am getting a headache and it is still raining.

6/30/2015 9:13:10 AM

Allentown, PA

Yes Marv,

This is why I wait until I see an increase in size of the tomato then I begin counting. During my ten years of growing tomatoes and now four years of growing giants I have seen many mega blooms that appear pollinated with a small growth only to remain that size thus an abort.

I want to see an increase before I begin the clock. Once I see the tomato actually increasing in size I will begin the DAP count.

6/30/2015 12:33:02 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Another term which I am told is used maybe in England is DAS which stands for Days After Set. In other words it is covering the days after you see a small tomato.

7/2/2015 11:00:59 PM

Allentown, PA

Marv,

Then that's what should be used That's exactly how I count. I don't see how anyone could do otherwise if one is wanting to correspond the day count with the tomato's growth.

7/3/2015 6:49:57 AM

East Tennessee

Today is the first day I can see a lil mater on my 4.91 Brammer. Should I be able to tell by tomorrow if it had increased in size? If so and it has increased tomorrow would be day 1?

7/7/2015 2:12:05 PM

Wixom MI.

I admit it as much as i watch them, i wont remember the DAP of my tomatoes. I will have aproximate dap as long as i took a picture of them but i will have to many tomatoes to keep track of.

7/7/2015 3:05:57 PM

Allentown, PA

Yeah Chris, you and I are in the same boat.

7/7/2015 4:32:57 PM

Bloomington, IN USA

I am keeping a notebook and each plant has it's own page.
It is the only way I have been able to track of the DAP & growth of each fruit , which is essential to choose from as many as 4 fruit on 1 plant to get the fastest growing one.
Now if I could just get home from work at a decent hour!

7/8/2015 10:05:48 PM