Green tomatoes..to pcik or not to pick??

[Curvy Vixen]

What would you do???

I have 2 plants that are pretty generously laden with green fruit...not all of it very large so a bit of growing still to go before it ripens.

But with the winter setting in, a threat from the weather man of frost last night and nowhere warm to put them would you give in at this stage and pick them? I'm happy to make chutney or something from them so they won't be wasted but I think that if I leave them much longer I'm gonna lose them...

Whaddya think??

[lainey lou]

Hi CV
not that i'm in any way experienced enough to advise but i did read some where,you could pull the plant, remove the leaves and hang upside down somewhere warm and dry and this would speed up the ripening process.
Or perhaps put in a bowl with a banana?
LL

[Winged one]

I pulled most of mine at the weekend (the builders are digging out those beds this week) and made 6lbs worth of chutney. I have another 3lbs in a tub to decide what to do, and 2 more tubs open to the sun on the window ledge (the ones that showed most promise of ripening - I doubt they all will though).

Can you put some ina sunny place indoors or in a greenhouse to ripen further? Otherwise I reckon chutney is your best bet - it was BITTER on the southside this morning, although we didn't have any sign of the "grass frost" met eirann had said some places got.

[Curvy Vixen]

Just seen my typo ggrr...!!!

Problem is that I don't really have anywhere dry and warm other than my kitchen which doesn't get any sun!

Think chutney could be the way to go...it's very frustrating at this time of year (actually, like the whole year this year ) cos we're getting sun in the afternoon but really low temps at night! It's a bit of a lotto game....

[SMS6]

How about protecting them some how for a while? Maybe one of those plastic cold frames. I have some plants in one of those and since I've zipped them in they are starting to ripen

[bramble]

If theres any that have begun to turn at all put them in the window and they will ripen for you. Or put them in a brown paper bag with a banana. The rest you can use for chutney. Let us know how you get on. I have a couple of plants left in the greenhouse, my outdoor ones got the early blight.

[Flummery]

You can hang the whole plant upside down in a garage and the fruits will continue to ripen. My dad used to do this. He also tried it with outdoor grown pelargoniums and managed to keep them alive over winter like this.

[lesley cooper]

green toms and caterpillars

I have found that picking the toms and leaving them anywhere in the kitchen is enough to ripen them. I usually mix them in with some ripe ones, and use them as they ripen off.

I grew Gardeners Delight in the greenhouse this year and have had loads of toms of them, but have been troubled by a persistent pest that I haven't seen before. The plants have had lots of pale green caterpillars that eat the leaves and fruit at any stage of growth. I have hand picked them off and that has seemed to keep them under enough control. I tried keeping one or two in a jam jar with lots of leaves and a few toms to feed them (pricked holes in the top first) just to see what they were caterpillars of, but each time, they died. Anyone got any suggestions as to what they might be? Can't find anything similar in my pest books.

[Curvy Vixen]

I grew 3 plants this year Bramble and lost one to blight Should be glad it was just one really considering they were all planted together!

We had frost last night...had to defrost the car this morning. I won't be home til late tonight so the earliest I get to see my plants will be after work tomorrow..gonna bite the bullet and make the chutney!

[ulla]

I also have lots of late tomatoes. Trouble is they are still flowering. It's the hanging basket variety. At the moment I am taking them in over night and hang them out again for the sunny days or when I need to take a shower.

But am not sure what to do really with them. They were supposed to be cherry tomatoes. There are a lot of very little ones still around. The plants still look like baby plants, too.

[SueA]

It was cold here yesterday & this morning & I've got green toms. still on my outdoor plants, haven't got a greenhouse or room to bring them inside like you do Ulla so I think I might be joining Curvy Vixen with the green tomato chutney. I might try picking some & getting them to ripen on the windowsill, you could try that Ulla if your toms are looking anywhere near colouring up.

[Curvy Vixen]

Chutney is the way to go! I've printed out the recipe from here and will be doing it at the weekend!

And the good news, is that I can now get some garlic to plant in the pots that the tomatoes are currently in

[stigoftheplot]

I pick them as late as poss, put them in trays in the shed and take a tub full home at a time to ripen indoors in the warmth and use them as they do. Like that I can keep going till up to xmas or beyond. I always use some green for chutney and I've got some in the freezer but sliced and weighed ready for more chutney later (love the stuff). This year I've grown some plum toms too which have cropped well, so I've been skinning those and freezing. If I get a glut of ripe toms it's soup, ketchup and pulp in the freezer.

[Curvy Vixen]

I picked all my toms last night ~ have about 2lb of mixed sizes. If I'd been able to leave them longer I'd say I would have had about 2lb of tomatoes from the 2 plants cos most of them are smaller than a marble But they'll make great chutney