How to Keep Tomatoes From Turning Red

Stop tomatoes from turning red by picking and storing the tomatoes in conditions that stop ripening.

Green tomatoes are tomatoes that have yet to ripen. In order to have ripe tomatoes through the winter, the gardener will try to keep tomatoes green until ripe tomatoes are needed. It normally takes tomatoes about 50 days to fully ripen. In order for tomatoes to reach their peak ripened flavor and color, you need to pick and store them at the right time and in the right conditions.

Things You'll Need

• Cool room, between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit
• Paper
• Banana

Instructions

1. Do not put mulch down on the soil where the tomato plants are once the tomatoes have reached their full size. Mulch is used to keep soil cool, but in this instance you do not want cool soil. You want to let the soil temperature be higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature the plant will put a lot of energy into growing more roots and less energy into ripening the tomato.

2. Do not worry about removing tomatoes if the plant has too many. Too many tomatoes can cause the plant to be overworked. An overworked plant will take longer to ripen than one that has only a few tomatoes. You do want to remove any laterals and new leaves, as more leaves can produce more energy due to an increase in photosynthesis. To increase the time needed for ripening you want a lot of tomatoes with not a lot of branches and leaves.

3. Pick the tomatoes when the temperature starts to reach about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the ideal ripening temperature for tomatoes. If the temperature is too high, the tomatoes will begin to soften, which results in low-quality tomatoes.

4. Wrap the green tomatoes in paper. Make sure each tomato is wrapped individually, as this reduces the chance of rot. Store the tomatoes in a room that is dry, dark and between 55 and 65 degrees. Temperatures under 54 degrees Fahrenheit are too cold, and the tomatoes will lose flavor and texture.

5. When you want a ripe tomato, move tomatoes to a warmer room. Place a banana in with the tomatoes to speed up ripening . Ethylene gas produced from ripe bananas will help to speed up ripening. You can also let the tomatoes ripen naturally at cool temperatures, though it will take many weeks before they ripen.

References

• Herald Times Online; Why Tomatoes Take Their Sweet Time to Ripen; Joe Lamp'l; August 2009
• University of Illinois Extension: Tomato

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish