My tomato plants look great, and they are loaded with blossoms. The plants themselves are growing higher by the day, but I have some tomatoes on the plants that seem to have stopped growing. The tomatoes are not turning red and they look hard. What have I done wrong?
Hardiness Zone: 8a
Kayla from Dry Prong, LAAdd your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
In my experience they take a long time to ripen on the vine. Lots of people pick off the green ones, and let them ripen in the house. This doesn't really seem to affect the flavor much. Here in northern Sask, we have a short growing season, so have to do this with the last of our tomatoes all the time, to avoid frost. It is best to let them ripen in a cardboard box or bowl lined with paper towel, at room temp, or slightly cooler. Don't put them on the window sill. Don't cover with plastic or anything. Make sure they are dry, and dirt free so you don't get any mold.
Try picking off all the branches that are not bearing fruit. That way all the nutrients will go to the fruits, and will get a lot more sunlight to ripen them.
I always found leaving tomatoes to ripen on the vine usually ended up with bugs/holes in them, So I have always removed them when they were the right size and let them ripen in my house, Always left them in a big pot , Went thru them every few days and removed the more riper ones to the top,. Some people has told me to put them in the window others say in a dark spot, I have tried both and I find neither is better then the other, So I just leave em wherever I find a spot in my house for them, They always ripen.
I don't use any insecticide on my Garden period, and I always have good crops every year.
Put up over 600 canned goods every year from my own garden, plus frozen vegs etc
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