Turning Green Tomatoes Red While On The Vine
There’s a few techniques to encourage tomatoes to ripen and to prolong the harvest.
- Remove existing flowers and buds. This allows the plant to concentrate its energy on ripening existing fruit instead of growing new ones.
- Remove stem ends. Cut just above a cluster of ripening fruit.
- Remove lower leaves especially ones that touch the ground.
- Remove diseased foliage and fruit, split and overripe tomatoes.
- Remove small fruit to allow bigger tomatoes to mature.
- Remove excess fruit on overloaded plants.
- Remove small and new suckers.
- Cover plants at night. This not only keeps plants warmer it keeps plants drier reducing blight and other diseases. Use breathable fabric such as tablecloths, floating row covers. Don’t forget to uncover plants in the morning.
- Stop watering. The lack of water encourages water, however, don’t allow plants to wilt.
- Watch for frost. Extend harvest by covering plants when frost is predicted. Use floating row covers, sheets or other breathable fabric. Plastic has no insulating value.
- Harvest daily!
But Wait...There's More...
There's certainly more to growing veggies than this article. Check out the links below for more information.
- Spring Veggie Gardening
- Crop Rotation, Succession and Companion Planting.
- Taming Tomatoes
- Speeding Up Tomato Harvests
- Tomato Tips
- Tomato Troubles
- Tomatoes Seedlings to Plants
- Growing Potatoes
- Harvesting
- Winter Veggie Gardening
- Building a Potager (French Kitchen) Garden
- How to Build an Easy Veggie Garden Trellis
- Plant Pests Part 1
- Plant Pests Part 2: Controlling Insects
- Slugs & Snails
- Growing Seeds Indoors
- Growing Seeds Outdoors
- Soil Building
- Compost Tea
- Composting
- Fertilizing & Feeding Plants