Ripening Tomatoes

[Bill HH]

I know the old trick to ripen tomatoes is to put them in a bag with a ripe bannana but i wonder if this would work in the green house while the tomatoes are still on the vine? Has anyone done this?

Bill

[Pineberry]

I have not tried, but I will now. You never know

[JoeDaStudd]

Can't see why it wouldn't work, but I would suspect you'd need a lot of bananas as the bag method works by trapping the gas (ethylene) in a small area.

[mothhawk]

It works with sweet peppers and I shall be trying it with toms later on. I just put skins on the compost of the pots so it's directly under the plant.

[crannman]

yes tryed it does work just a few around base of plant

[esbo]

That's cheating!!

I don't have any bananas though

[solway cropper]

Why not just leave them to ripen naturally?

Most folks use the banana trick to ripen toms at the end of the season when there's not much sunshine.

[Bill HH]

I could leave it to nature, I have a couple just turning, but I eat a lot of tomatoes and it pains me to pay the exhorbitant price they are asking in the shops when i have loads of green ones just sitting there.

[esbo]

Why not just leave them to ripen naturally?

Most folks use the banana trick to ripen toms at the end of the season when there's not much sunshine.

Because it seems like it will take forever!!
I spotted a ripening cherry on a second plant the other day, which is promising so 3 ripening cherries over two separate plants, hopefully over the next week I will see a bit of an outbreak of cherry ripening which will be supplying my tomato needs over the next few weeks as I await ripening on the bigger size toms, but that could be a good while yet, just seeing one of the bigger ones ripening would be a big boost, but they seem to be suspended animation at the moment.

I chucked a bruised apple into the tomato plant jungle, (no bananas in stock lol) may that will encourage them!
My plants were hit by disease last September so that is my main worry, but the look fine at the moment, if they stay disease free I should have another 2 months of frost free weather which is quite a while, one year I had no frost until December!!!