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Gardening

Tomatoes

(19 Posts)
Graygirl Wed 18-Sep-19 12:52:39

Just back from 2week holiday tomatoes all still green DH just removed all non bearing green stems /leaf so left with a good 10lb green toms. Do I leave for this week and hope or is the bedroom window sill or chutney my only option

Sussexborn Wed 18-Sep-19 12:58:50

Put some of them in a dark paper bag or carrier with a banana (or it might be an apple - I forget which). Put them somewhere warm like the airing cupboard and they should ripen in the dark.

Make green tomato chutney with the rest or offer them to someone else who likes to make preserves.

Farmor15 Wed 18-Sep-19 13:15:41

I'd leave them on the plant a bit longer, unless there's danger of frost - nights are getting chilly.

JessK Wed 18-Sep-19 14:00:24

I've left mine on the plant too. I even have new flowers appearing on mine...

Beechnut Wed 18-Sep-19 14:40:24

I’m leaving mine too as I thought they were late to start ripening this year.

LondonGranny Wed 18-Sep-19 14:47:28

Sussexborn
It's an apple, not a banana. Bananas give off much more ethylene so stuff goes from unripe to squishy too fast.

merlotgran Wed 18-Sep-19 15:14:44

Give them a feed of Tomorite and leave them out in the garden for as long as we have sunny days.

aggie Wed 18-Sep-19 15:17:50

Hang the vines , with the tomatoes on , up in the greenhouse , I used to hang them from the curtain rail in the kitchen! They ripen slowly and taste good

Calendargirl Wed 18-Sep-19 16:54:57

Last year DH gathered all the green tomatoes, laid them in trays and we stood them in the conservatory. They gradually ripened, we were eating our own tomatoes until the week before Christmas. They were still much tastier than bought ones.

Calendargirl Wed 18-Sep-19 16:57:05

Also make pasta sauce, Delia’s recipe, when I have enough ripe ones.

glammanana Wed 18-Sep-19 18:31:59

I've just cut some nice ripe plum tomatoes to go with our evening meal we still have some on the vines they will be ready by the middle of next week,they are delicious.

Graygirl Wed 18-Sep-19 19:12:11

Made 3litres sauce last year ,freeze in 250mil containers only 2of us most of the time

Graygirl Wed 18-Sep-19 19:14:53

DH uses Richard Jackson's stuff from QVC

MamaCaz Wed 18-Sep-19 19:21:39

I'll be leaving mine on the plant until the end of September at the very least. I won't remove them unless I see signs of blight.

In some years, I've still been picking the odd ripe tomato well into December

Sussexborn Thu 19-Sep-19 00:45:06

Thanks LondonGranny. I’ll go and swap the banana for an apple!

Teacheranne Thu 19-Sep-19 07:42:58

I grew tomatoes for the first time last year, outside on my patio in pots. They have grown well and the cherry ones have produced loads of tomatoes which have mostly ripened. But they are not very tasty!

I'm wondering if I did anything wrong! They are the right size so I think I've treated them correctly. Any suggestions for next year?

I do need to decide what to do with the surplus as I have a big bowl full! I don't like tomatoe pasta sauce so that's not an option. I've never made chutney before and am uncertain how to sterilise the jars or seal them afterwards.

annsixty Thu 19-Sep-19 13:35:33

This year for the first time we have grown purple/indigo kumquat tomatoes.
They are like plum and cherry shape.
They look almost black and then ripen to orange with purple “shoulders “
The point is ,they won’t, ripen that is.
We have hundreds of the little b.....S hanging like large black olives.
The beef and plum varieties are not ripening very well either.
It is the worst year we have had.
These are all grown outdoors by the way.

LondonGranny Thu 19-Sep-19 13:40:24

I always grew Gardeners Delight tomatoes because they're reliable, tasty and the seed comes true if you save it.
After staying at a friend's who grows the F1 hybrid Piccolo,
I will be growing them next year. Really very tasty indeed and they ripen well. The seed won't be worth saving but they really are a delicious variety.

lemongrove Thu 19-Sep-19 14:19:03

I grew four kinds of tomatoes this year, and the best were
Sungold, orange coloured cherry tomatoes, exceptionally sweet.
I am leaving all of them on the vines to ripen off.