How to Get your Green Tomatoes to Turn Red.

This has been one of those years for me. The kind of tomato year that has my plant fully loaded with green tomatoes that just seem to stay green forever. Here is a collection of tips and tricks that I can share with you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Pick your tomato plants carefully. Tomatoes hate frost or chills and if you've purchased some plants that have been too cold, chances are the fruit will easily be 2 to 4 weeks behind in ripening.
   
   Make sure any plant you buy or grow is protected from the cold. In my area, that means my plants shouldn't be outside until Mother's Day.
   
   You can see frost damage on a plant. The foliage may look windblown and dried out or the tips look brown and dehydrated.

2. Choose indeterminate varieties with short "days to maturity."
   
   Indeterminate tomatoes are the ones we like because they trickle out ripening tomatoes all season long. Determinant tomatoes ripen all of the tomatoes at once and then the plant is done. A crop that ripens all at once is still great for people who preserve their crops by canning, but for those of us who want our tomato treat, the ripening period feels like it takes forever.
   
   The "days to maturity” can be 52 to over 100 days before you see a ripe fruit. Stick with the tomatoes that ripen in less than 70 days, especially those of us who live in cooler climates.
   
   All of this information should be found on the tomato seed packaging or on the plant tag.

3. Green tomatoes got you down? Do they seem like they've been hanging on the vine for months? Tomatoes need sun, heat, and they need to be protected from wind.
   
   Tomatoes like at least 6 hours of direct afternoon sun and heat. No amount of fertilizer will make up for a shaded tomato. You won't find any magic sprays or formulas to take the place of good old fashioned heat in the form of afternoon sun (morning sun is too cool to be counted).
   
   This is why folks who live in the chilly North, like me, try to give tomatoes more heat with things like "water walls" and planting near reflective surfaces. Try it with next years crops, the extra heat has advantages.
   
   Protecting you plants from wind is another tip. Those tomatoes produce Ethylene, which is a gas that triggers the green tomatoes to turn red. Windy sites send the Ethylene drifting away from the fruit and that's not good.

4. If the weather is starting to turn cool and fall is approaching. There are a few tricks that you can try as a last effort.
   
   First, it's getting cooler but frost is still a ways a way. Defoliate your tomato plants. Yup, rip off every leaf and trim any extra growth back to the cluster of ripening tomatoes. This sends all of the plants energy to the fruit.
   
   Next: Frost is days away. Rip the entire plant out of the ground (gently so the tomatoes stay attached). Shake of some of the dirt and hang the plant upside down in area protected from frost (the garage, basement, greenhouse...). This will keep those tomatoes ripening for a little longer.
   
   Frost is here, you can't wait anymore: Harvest those green tomatoes and bring them inside for the windowsill. Place them in a brown paper bag so that they are not touching. Check them everyday, turning them and giving them space. This captures the Ethylene gas and hopefully turns your tomatoes red in a week.

5. Finally, if all else fails: Fried green tomatoes are pretty tasty.

Tips & Warnings

• Fertilize regularly with an organic fertilizer made for tomatoes.
• Water regularly, even through the growing season. Cutting back the water can make ripening tomatoes split and crack.
• For gardeners in cooler climates, like the Northwest: grow some cherry tomatoes that will ripen faster then those big ones. Just in case our summer stays relentlessly chilly.
• Always shop from reputable nurseries. Do the tomatoes seem like they've been outside in the cold? Ask!
• Never put tomatoes in the fridge. This halts any ripening and turns tomatoes mushy and bland.

Resources

• A how to guide for harvesting vegetable.

[showpup]

on 9/21/2009 Thanks for the ideas, especially the last one. My patio tomato plant has hit about the end of it's road but loaded with green tomatoes still. I'll get to pruning properly. Thanks! I was worried until I read this.

[cheapcindy]

on 10/4/2008 Thanks for the tips - maybe next year I will have more luck with my tomatoes with this info.

[vallain]

on 9/23/2008 It's mid-September and we've barely had 4 or 5 tomatoes. Rain and clouds all summer is what I blame it on here in NH. I'll have to resort to cutting back the vines or bringing them in to ripen. Thanks.

[SeventhSibling]

on 9/2/2008 WE have a gazillion green tomatoes. I've been tapping my toe, waiting for them to ripen. I like your Step 5. Good to keep our sense of humor.

[jimdris]

on 8/29/2008 Great coverage on this topic! Lots of stuff that a know-it-all didn't know about.