Tomatoes STILL green - will they eventually redden?

[Noodles]

My plants have got loads of toms on but all green still. Been on hols for a week and just got back to find the first one turning red. Hoping the rest will quickly follow!

[JennieAtkinson]

This is to some of you a daft question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. This is the first year that I have actually had tomatoes for some time. But they are all green. So.... how do I ripen them with a banana?

Do I put them in a paper bag
....... a closed tupperware box
........ do they go in the fridge
........ out of the fridge
??

can somebody enlighten me please.

Ta very muchly!

[Demeter]

I would put them in an enclosed space but where they can breathe. The reason is to capture the ethylene gas without making them all sweaty. So paper bag (or drawer) would be grand.

I would also leave them out of the fridge as the fridge will slow down production of ethylene.

Saying that, I haven't ever actually done this, it's just how I would do it if I was going to...

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks Demeter. I'll give the paperbag a go. I'll let you know how I get on!

[lindyloo1]

green tomatoes

This year I had 70 beautiful, healthy tomato plants which I brought on from seed. Had loads and load of tomatoes and lost the entire crop to tomato blight! Next year I'm going to try growing a resistant variety!

[Davyburns]

I've never tried this, but if you put a truss still on the vine, into a brown paper bag, and seal it at the top, surely the ethylene gas will accumulate and ripen the toms.

[Davyburns]

I've never tried this, but if you put a truss still on the vine, into a brown paper bag, and seal it at the top, surely the ethylene gas will accumulate and ripen the toms.

Right, I have two sweet million plants side by side with large trusses and only 2 or 3 ripening on each truss, so I have encased 1 in a paper bag and tied it off at the top, and will have a look next friday to test my theory!

[Coredefence]

Someone told me that putting banana skins around the base of tomato plants helps to speed up ripening.

[crazii_c]

my cherry toms have been ripe for a couple of weeks now and finally my normal sizes toms are turning red! hope the sun keeps shining for a bit longer now.

[MalUK]

Someone told me that putting banana skins around the base of tomato plants helps to speed up ripening.

That's the way commercial growers often do it, well they expose them to ethylene directly, but I think most people grow their own to avoid ripening them prematurely.

[chris]

All mine are green still too. Tried one green sausage the other day, wasn't ready.. wasn't very nice

[selfraising]

Due to lack of sunshine I've been picking mine off a few at a time when they look like they are starting to colour up and putting them in a bowl on the windowsill indoors, they soon ripen up indoors.

[Dottie]

I've been picking off any that have started to turn red and bringing home to ripen indoors. Just moved them along the windowsill as the sun has moved since 1st thing.

[taff]

mine are ripening up the odd one at a time...
lindyloo, I feel your pain, the same thing happened to mine last year, so I grew Shirley and Ferline this year outside, fab plants, nice size tomatoes and ripening quicker than the greenhouse/tunnel ones no blight so far [but there have been far fewer warnings this year compared to last.

[RobNew]

My first tom is going red

I just noticed my first tomato that is starting to go red. We're quite far north here in the Isle of Man, and our site is very windy. I was given 12 tiny tomato plants (so I don't know what variety they are) and I put 6 in the green house and six outside beside the greenhouse, hopefully sheltered from the worst of the wind by the greenhouse.

My first red one is inside the greenhouse, and the greenhouse plants are a good foot taller than the ones outside, but I did it that way to hopefully stagger when the toms rippen, so that I have two smaller gluts, rather than one big one

I may have to go out every few hours this weekend to check if anymore are starting to go red