green toms

[Guykp57]

why wont my tomatoes go RED??????

[IndigoElectron]

I have the same problem

[veggiechicken]

Are they large toms or cherry toms?The small ones are ripening for me - but the larger ones are not. So glad I grow mostly littlies

[Guykp57]

mix of both. 2 lots in hanging baskets and 2 lots plant troughs, cant even get them to go green on windowsill or in airing cupboard

[Penellype]

It probably depends how old your plants are, as well as what the variety is and where it is growing. They will go red eventually. Some of my outdoor Shirley plants which were grown on from side shoots have not yet produced ripe fruit, although the parent plants, indoors, have. Tomatoes are always a bit of a juggling act, sowing them early enough to produce fruit before the autumn frosts and late enough to avoid the spring ones. Yours were probably sown rather later than mine (3rd April) - I like to start early and put the plants outside when they are too tall for the windowsill, wrapping them in fleece and plastic as I don't have a greenhouse. My Sungold, a quick growing variety, were a good 3ft high when the same variety at the garden centre were only a foot and still in 3 inch pots. The downside of this is you risk losing them to a late frost.

[veggiechicken]

Not much point in picking them to ripen indoors at this time of the year unless you have too. You're just going to have to learn a little patience
Once you have a couple of ripe ones, leave them on the plants - just to give the rest an idea of what they should do

[Guykp57]

Thanks all for advice..patience not one of my strong points and cos i've had so much success at allotment expecting same at home, i'll just wait and see

[Bill HH]

Picking green toms is a last ditch tactic when you just know its too late for them to ripen, but we still have all of septembr to go so i would definately leave them on the plant. If they are in a green house you could try what i am doing, that is to drop banana skins under each plant.Of course it may be pure coincidence but mine are turning red now. Another thing that may help is to trim off some leaves to let more light in.
I am wondering if I dragged the wifes sun bed into the green house and laid it on its side if that would help? just a thought.

[veggiechicken]

..........don't forget the Factor 30 if you do, Bill
I read somewhere recently that if you have to ripen tomatoes off the plant, to do it in the dark - then they ripen from the inside out. If you ripen them on the windowsill, the skins ripen and toughen before the inside ripens.
My grandad ripened his in a suitcase under the bed -one of my favourite memories of him

[esbo]

My cherries started ripening about 3 weeks ago, My Tigerella, which is medium sized about a week ago but nothing yet from my Alicante (full sized) or plum Tomatoes, they are still very green, but I take hope from the varieties that started ripening.

All depends on the variety and when you planted them, the earlier the better really as long as you avoid early frost.

Seems to be the tomato closest to the ground and nearest to the stem which is the one to watch.

[Hayley]

I thought my tomatoes were never going to change colour. I have mine in a plastic greenhouse and they have just started changing colour slightly.

[Nannysally99]

I must be the lucky one, our tomatoes have been ripening well, hoping there will be a few green ones left for chutney at the end of September


Sent from my iPad using Grow Your Own Forum

[JoeDaStudd]

Ours were slow to start, but once one of fruits started to ripen they all joined in.

[PyreneesPlot]

You are not alone. We gave some to our neighbour yesterday as they still don't have any ripe ones yet, in sunny south west France!

[sally fran]

I read somewhere recently that if you have to ripen tomatoes off the plant, to do it in the dark - then they ripen from the inside out.

Do you think that might mean that it's also better to keep the fruit shaded by the leaves when they're on the plants?

I read this (from Gardening 101: How do you know when tomatoes are ripe? - National Gardening | Examiner.com) the other day that I thought was interesting:

"For the varieties that turn red, the answer is fairly obvious, but you can ensure that you're getting them at their best if you pick them just as they begin to change from orange to red and then keep them on the kitchen counter or other location with normal light (not in the sun) until they turn that beautiful red color. The reason for picking them early is that the flavor peak will decline if you let it hang on the vine after it turns red."

I was researching because something has been eating my greenhouse toms (mice? tiny snails? http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lar_74421.html ?). Whichever it is they are only interested in the ripe ones so I decided to beat the little b*****ds to it and harvest them before they fully ripen. They are sitting in a darkish corner of the kitchen - perhaps I should cover them over with newspaper to keep them even darker?