So...what's the secret?????

[Nicos]

My toms are finally coming through ready for picking....woo hooo!!!!


My cherry toms are ripening -one here- one there- and as I was picking I was wondering how on earth do 'they' manage to pick a whole truss of ripe toms to sell in the shops???


What's the secret- cos there's no way mine are going to ripen all at the same time

[chris]

Maybe there's a chemical "Ripen all together" spray?

[pipkins]

When you find out please let me know

[womble]

I learnt this recently from MSE, they use ethylene gas, the same stuff you get from ripe bananas.

[rustylady]

I think I'd rather pick mine as and when they're ready

[Bren In Pots]

I've only managed to have a whole red truss once only because I wanted to enter the vine comp,
so I left a sticky note on it saying 'leave alone' wonder if that helped

[womble]

I've only managed to have a whole red truss once only because I wanted to enter the vine comp,
so I left a sticky note on it saying 'leave alone' wonder if that helped

I did the same last year, as I was putting the vine into a box to take to the show, I knocked off 2 tomatoes......... so I glued them on with superglue won the class as well.

[Nicos]

ethylene gas...ah yes...banana skins and all that???

So Bren- sticky pads eh????....now THAT really is a well kept secret!!

...how do other grapes do it more naturally than the commercial gassing method?
you see loads of trusses of toms in village comptitions...how on earth do they manage that????

[Nicos]

superglue.

Te he...thats soooo naughty!!!!...but I LOVE it!!!!

[Bren In Pots]

So Bren- sticky pads eh????....now THAT really is a well kept secret!!

BTW It has to be those yellow one

[Nicos]

Ah ha!!!!

( thank you!!!...I promise I won't tell anyone else ) (I might get locked away if i did!!!)

[Keith2202]

ethylene gas...ah yes...banana skins and all that???

So Bren- sticky pads eh????....now THAT really is a well kept secret!!

...how do other grapes do it more naturally than the commercial gassing method?
you see loads of trusses of toms in village comptitions...how on earth do they manage that????

If you leave the ripe ones on they give off ethylene and the rest of the truss goes ripe as well, eventually, that has certainly happened with my Galina toms. I think patience is required.
Some types are bred to ripen at once as well for commercial "looks good on the shelf" purposes as opposed to taste!

[kentvegplot]

Also, the growers cheat! Any toms that didn't ripen get removed before being sent for sale. If the vine is trimmed well, you can't see where the ends were taken off.....

[Nicos]

I think patience is required.

...but...but ....I've been waiting since February when I germinated the seeds...and now they are red...and you're telling me to leave them be??

*faints

[brockie]

hang a banana skin next to them