Green Tomatoes...

[chickensandagarden]

Does anyone else have tomatoes that just will not ripen and turn red? My tomato plants have had big, green maters on them for a couple weeks now and it seems like they're never going to ripen. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

well, considering i'm a few zones north of you, yeah, i have green tomatoes i'm waiting to see ripen! i just noticed a few grape tomatoes and a few of my Bumble Bee's that are green the past 2 weeks. but i expect they'll be red given a couple more weeks.

 

[baymule]

A watched pot never boils and a watched tomato never ripens!

The larger tomatoes take a little longer to ripen. Next time, try planting some cherry tomatoes as well. They ripen first and can satisfy that tomato taste until the larger ones ripen. A good cherry is Riesentraube from Baker Creek. Another good cherry is Yellow Pear. Both of these are very prolific and tasty!

 

[digitS']

Patience?

Here are photos and a timeline for the development and ripening of a truss of Big Beef tomatoes (LINK).

It looks to me like there is very little change during the final 3 weeks. One of the tomatoes finally begins to change color. I know it must be frustrating to say, "I've waited two weeks!" And, get the response to wait another week ...

If you were up against the fall frost, I'd suggest withholding water. That seldom works for me because we will have rain during the week before frost. Then, it will clear and ~ boom! ~ end of season. But anyway, I doubt if you want to dry out your tomato garden in July.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

What varieties are you growing? I've got several 4th of July hybrid, some Mexico Midget cherry tomatoes, and a couple of Eva Purple Ball ripening but the open pollinated Jubilee, Hillbilly, and Chocolate Stripes are just sitting there green. They'll come around eventually. It is frustrating and where you are you should be ahead of me. I'll bet its your varieties.

 

[Nyboy]

Fried green tomatoes !! so good!!

 

[canesisters]

Having the same problem! There are at least a dozen 'ready size' but green tomatoes on each plant. When they all come in, I'm gonna have to devote a whole day to processing them!

 

[Hal]

Tomatoes depend on temperature to ripen.
We had an unusually cool wet summer one year and all the tomatoes in the region got massive but did not ripen and kept growing larger till one day we got warm weather again and everyone started reporting tomatoes ripening.
Sadly because they need warm weather to ripen a myth got around that you need sunlight on the fruit.
It reminds me one of the gardening show hosts here told people it was sun light and to trim leaves from near the fruit to help them ripen, all those people got was really bad sun scold and ruined fruit.

 

[Collector]

I am in the same situation here, waiting for the cherry tomatoes first. HURRY UP ALREADY!

 

[chickensandagarden]

I do have a couple cherry tomato plants and those have yet to ripen as well. I did get my garden planted a bit late this year, but geez. I'm impatient when it comes to tomatoes because they're nearly my favorite vegetable(fruit) We usually have long, hot, humid summers, but this summer as been oddly cool with loads of rain. I'm thinking it just hasn't been hot enough for them even though they get full sun. I may try to dry them up a bit, but I think I've only watered about 4 times this season...weird, I know.