Wondering how to get tomatoes to ripen on the vine?
Did you know that picking ripe (or near ripe) tomatoes on your plants can speed up ripening of the the remaining tomatoes on the plant?
It's true. Picking tomatoes (and peppers for that matter) can encourage the plant to ripen the remaining fruits faster. With tomatoes (and most peppers, too), you can pick them when they are partially ripe, so as the tomatoes turn halfway to their final color but aren't the full ripe color yet.
If you start indoor seedlings from tomato seeds, depending on the season, you may have some green tomatoes that are stubborn and seem to never ripen in time for the coming autumn frosts. Here are some more techniques below to help the plants go into ripening mode.
These Pineapple tomatoes above are ripening, to encourage the plant to ripen the rest of the tomatoes, pick the ones that are already turning color!How to make tomatoes ripen faster: additional techniques:
You can also prune the tomato plants to redirect their energy into ripening existing fruit, removing new flowers if the end of the season is near. You can prune the lower leaves and suckers (the small shoots that grow between the stem and a branch) to improve air circulation and light exposure at the end of the summer.
People also recommend to reduce watering once the fruit is fully formed, though just slightly – as the drought stress can signal the plant to ripen it's fruit faster.
Above: Harvest cherry tomatoes daily to encourage the rest to ripen faster!Happy harvest season!
May all your tomatoes get ripe before the freezing cold weather arrives.
If your green tomatoes don't ripen before the first frost, it is a good idea to pick all the tomatoes and put them in one layer in a paper bag – if they are close enough to being ripe, they will likely ripen over a week or two! Just pull them out as they ripen and use them. While they may not taste AS good as freshly picked ripened tomatoes from the vine, they will still have great flavor and are great for use in salads or for cooking to make into marinara sauce, salsa recipes, and more. You can also make green tomato enchilada sauce with green tomatoes.
