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Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 8:51:20 AM   
Iamsemisweet


Posts: 3651
Joined: 4/9/2011
From: The Great Northwest, USA
Status: offline 		I have hundreds of tomatoes in my garden. Hard, green tomatoes. I have gotten varied advice as to how to ripen them ( hang the plant upside down; wrap the individual tomatoes in newspaper). Fortunately, I have enough to try several methods, but if anyone else has something that works, I would love to hear it.

More to the point, what am I doing wrong? Anyone have huge success with tomatoes and care to give me a little advice? I am at a 1000 feet, and it was kind of a cold summer.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 8:54:53 AM   
LillyBoPeep


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Joined: 12/29/2010
Status: offline 		mine aren't ripening either, and the weather is already turning really cold. the plants themselves are taller than me (not saying much, but oh well =p) and have lots of little green tomatoes, but nothing's ripening... i've actually never had issues with tomatoes before. i usually stick them in the ground and they go.

http://extension.colostate.edu/4DMG/VegFruit/ripening.htm
this link has some interesting information, though.


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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 8:56:15 AM   
nancygirl34652


Posts: 291
Joined: 3/10/2010
Status: offline 		when i lived in new jersey, i had wonderful success with growing tomato plants. Some say it was because of the sandy soil, that they need to be in sandy soil. Not sure if that is true but mine were great. Also, in the garden i had a little trench around each plant so the water would stay in there awhile after watering...not sure if that is what helped. And watered at least two times a day...but never later than 4 or 5 pm....and never really wet the plant itself when in strong sunlight.

Lots of not sure's in there, huh?

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:01:11 AM   
littlewonder


Posts: 15659
Status: offline 		you could always do what is called root pruning.  Also make sure you snip off any suckers and any extra leaves that are not needed. They will sap all the energy instead of it going into the tomato itself.

If you've already picked them then we always placed them on a windowsill and it always worked. Any green tomatoes we had left at the end of the season we would pickle or make relish or fried green tomatoes for sandwiches...yummy! I haven't had any in forever. I now want some lol.



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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:02:46 AM   
DomKen


Posts: 19457
Joined: 7/4/2004
From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Iamsemisweet

I have hundreds of tomatoes in my garden. Hard, green tomatoes. I have gotten varied advice as to how to ripen them ( hang the plant upside down; wrap the individual tomatoes in newspaper). Fortunately, I have enough to try several methods, but if anyone else has something that works, I would love to hear it.

More to the point, what am I doing wrong? Anyone have huge success with tomatoes and care to give me a little advice? I am at a 1000 feet, and it was kind of a cold summer.

This late in the season your best hope is to prune any new blossoms and smallish tomatoes, they'll never ripen, as well as pruning back any new shoots or tendrils. the plants will then put more of their 'energy' into maturing the tomatoes. Depending on how much sun you get before the first frost you might get some ripe tomatoes that way.

You can also eat green tomatoes.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:09:19 AM   
LaTigresse


Posts: 26123
Joined: 1/15/2006
Status: offline 		I remember my great aunt just pulling up the whole plant and hanging it in her root cellar. I do not remember the outcome but it must have been somewhat good or she wouldn't have continued doing it. She was batty but not senile.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:09:57 AM   
tj444


Posts: 7574
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline 		Hmmm,.. I grew up in Alberta, Canada and the summer was short. I dont even recall if we got many or any ripened on the vine tomatoes in our garden or not.. I do remember my mother putting the tomatoes in boxes with newspaper between each layer... checked regularly of course to remove the tomatoes as they ripen..

I know that you can do some things with green tomatoes but i dont have personal experience with that since green ones dont appeal to me, tastebud wise.. I prefer to just wait for the nice ripe, red, juicy ones...

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 12:32:53 PM   
MasterG2kTR


Posts: 6677
Joined: 8/7/2004
From: Wisconsin
Status: offline 		You could always invite all your family and/or friends for Fried Green Tomatoes....

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 12:34:25 PM   
Kirata


Posts: 15477
Joined: 2/11/2006
From: USA
Status: offline
Here's some information that may help...

How to ripen green tomatoes [1]
How to ripen green tomatoes [2]
How to ripen green tomatoes [3]

Hanging, or packing in newspaper, have already been mentioned but the links go into more detail.

K.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 1:05:51 PM   
DomKen


Posts: 19457
Joined: 7/4/2004
From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline 		Just a warning, any procedure that calls for cutting fruit off the vine or digging up the whole vine and not replanting it is simply reddening the tomato with ethylene gas the tomatoes emit. This is how the green tomatoes picked for supermarkets are turned red. If you want actually ripe tomatoes those methods will not work.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 5:13:42 PM   
DeviantlyD


Posts: 4382
Joined: 5/26/2007
From: Canada
Status: offline 		Gosh I miss my Dad's tomatoes!

Wow, that didn't sound right. *LMAO*

The tomatoes here suck. Tasteless. I actually had one, from a farm on the Big Island, that had sprouts inside. Even here, they pick things green. Although I did have a pineapple once, given to me by a friend who had a friend in the pineapple biz, and that thing was ripened "on the vine", so to speak. It was so yummy. Like candy. No acidity could be detected. If my understanding is correct, pineapples are like tomatoes and taste best when they are picked ripe. But for the marketplace, picking ripe isn't always practical.

Sorry to veer off topic. I'm not a horticulturist in the least. I have the proverbial black thumb. The only thing I know (and I've already established that I don't know much when it comes to plants) about the whole tomato thing is to leave them on the vine for as long as possible and when the weather turns, pack the unripened ones in newspaper and store them in a cool area (basement). Sorry I can't be of more help.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 5:47:31 PM   
pahunkboy


Posts: 33061
Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		You have to talk to them.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:17:39 PM   
DeviantlyD


Posts: 4382
Joined: 5/26/2007
From: Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

You have to talk to them.


I have to ask...what do you say to your tomatoes?

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:18:53 PM   
peppermint


Posts: 5175
Joined: 10/18/2005
From: Montana
Status: offline 		If you were up near Whidbey Island I'd tell you that you'll never ripen a tomato unless you have a greenhouse.  However, you are where there was a real summer so I'm not sure what to say.  Maybe covering the plants with plastic at night would help keep the heat in.  (Just throwing out an idea)

The UW has a program called Master Gardeners.  Theses are people who are avid gardeners and with some special training go to nurseries and places like that to give advice to home gardeners.  I would suggest watching for when one will be in your area.  You could also talk to some nursery people and maybe one of them could help you. 

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:36:19 PM   
LafayetteLady


Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Northern New Jersey
Status: offline 		Tomatoes are the best part of living in NJ! Up north, the soil isn't sandy, and we get such yummy tomatoes. Personally, I don't grow anything, my silk plants die under my thumb.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 9:43:34 PM   
SternSkipper


Posts: 7546
Joined: 3/7/2004
Status: offline 		I put em in a brown paper bag on a sunny windowsill and they're done in less than a week



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RE: Tomatoes - 9/25/2011 10:44:21 PM   
Iamsemisweet


Posts: 3651
Joined: 4/9/2011
From: The Great Northwest, USA
Status: offline 		So, I usually just buy heirloom starter plants in 4 inch pots. I had heard that buying the gallon sized plants was a waste. But would that help them grow and get off to a better start? This is not the first I have had trouble maturing tomatoes.

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Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/26/2011 3:54:09 AM   
DeviantlyD


Posts: 4382
Joined: 5/26/2007
From: Canada
Status: offline 		Oh! Well if you're buying them from a nursery, you should ask there. I'm sure they have the green thumb experts who could advise you and they would be regional, so they know what would or wouldn't work in your area.

I should become a dominant. Then I could have a garden and make my s-type take care of it. :D

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/26/2011 6:39:16 AM   
pahunkboy


Posts: 33061
Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: DeviantlyD


quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

You have to talk to them.


I have to ask...what do you say to your tomatoes?


I tell then that I love them, and that they are special and that they make me very happy.

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RE: Tomatoes - 9/26/2011 7:11:16 AM   
Hillwilliam


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Joined: 8/27/2008
Status: offline 		Wrap them individually in newspaper and you'll have tomatoes until december.

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