How do you ensure red tomato's?

[Garden_Chris]

Hi all,

As of right now, over twenty tomato plants, I've been lucky enough to grow in excess of 300 fantastically large and disease free tomato's (beginners luck much?). My only concern is, that with August well under way, and September on the horizon - how do I convince my tomato's to ripen?

They're a fantastic green colour - and I feel like I'm half convincing myself at times - that slight shades of yellow are intermingled amongst it. However, I have yet to receive one ripe, juicy red tomato.

I've heard plenty of theories, take off the leaves - they need sunlight to ripen them, don't take off the leaves, they'll provide the resources to ripen them, take them off the vine and place them on a windowsill - etcetera, etcetera.

I was wondering, is there a definitive art to procuring red tomato's? Or is it sadly, a waiting game? My only concern being, how long is left on the clock before the sun fades away and is replaced with autumn.

[Creemteez]

Time and patience is the key, Chris! Leave them to it! If there are a lot of leaves shading the trusses then you can remove a few. It's still releatively early in the season for tomatoes. My harvest is just starting to to get underway and when it happens, believe me, it really happens! - Fresh tomato sauce on my pasta to night!
Keep them watered regularly and at the same quantity - as erratic amounts will cause the skins to split.
Congratulations on your success - it's great when a plan comes together, innit!

[rustylady]

It's a waiting game I'm afraid. Where are your plants (greenhouse or outside)?

[Garden_Chris]

It's a waiting game I'm afraid. Where are your plants (greenhouse or outside)?

They're outdoors

[perkin]

Hi Chris,

That sounds like a massive crop of tomatoes - well done you!! All my tomatoes are in a greenhouse and started ripening 3 weeks ago. They seem to go from a solid muted green to a shinier almost translucent green before they ripen so maybe yours are nearly there? (My mum lives in the East Mids and has been eating ripe outdoor tiny cherry toms for almost 2 weeks now).
In my opinion, they need sunlight/heat in order to fully mature the fruit and move to the ripening stage. I don't know that removing leaves really helps - unless you've got loads of foliage that is shading out or smothering the toms. You can take them off the vine to ripen them on a windowsill, but that's usually a real end-of-season option - and despite the bizarre weather, I don't think we're quite there yet. I've found that ripening off the plant can result in softer, slightly shrivelled fruit, as the tomato is still losing water through respiration and this is not being replaced as it would do if it were still attached to the plant. So, unless signs of blight show themselves, I'd leave them on the plant for the time being at least.
Anyway, I'm sure other views on this will be along shortly.

[Two_Sheds]

I've had lots of red tomatoes the past week: my 'secret' is ...

~ a south facing greenhouse, kept warm
~ plenty of warmth (I'm not shading it on sunny days now)
~ lots of comfrey tea

[chris]

I've found my greenhouse toms kept much warmer have ripened faster. My outdoor ones aren't ready yet.

Some green ones blown off by the wind outdoors are ripening in the greenhouse though - after I read on here that they ripen with heat.

If they don't ripen, check out the green tomato chutney recipe here, it's lovely

[zazen999]

I'm the opposite - my greenhouse toms have had a sum total of 3 [2 Mexican Honey and 1 Sungold] but yet my outdoors ones in the courtyard have been ripening for a couple of weeks.

Try giving them an extra feed. And tell them to jolly well sort themselves out.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Both my indoor and outdoor toms have been cropping for about 5 weeks at the moment I havest about 11/2lb per day of 10 plants.

Try upping your feeding levels tomorite or other potash rich feed one day, water the next and so on, this will swell the fruit and help the ripening process.

Colin

[Aberdeenplotter]

Use tomato feed at half strength at every watering. It's amazing how quickly the toms ripen with that regime.

[JamesM]

It's a dilemma i had last year. Tried popping them in the fruit bowl with bananas, on a sunny windowsill and wrapping in newspaper (apparently!) all with minimal success. I'll be keeping a keen eye on this

[Davyburns]

Ripening fruits give off ethylene gas which in turn helps to ripen fruit nearby, and banana skins also give off ethylene. I have had some success in the past putting them around the base of the plant.

[Nik]

Take off the biggest ones and pop them in a paper bag. It still takes a week or two, but usually makes things happen quicker than on the vine.

[deltz]

I also was worrying about red tomatoes about a week and bit ago, i've got some decent sun lately and now my tomatoes are starting to ripen. Even one of my brandywine is showing some signs of yellowing!

I've also fed tomatoes with tomato feed, seaweed and compost tea, not sure if thats contributing to ripening!