Nice looking toms! What variety are they? Some varieties maintain a green-ish shoulder even when ripe. Give the fruit a gentle squeeze. If it's rock hard, give it a little longer. Any give at all, harvest.
EDIT. Just looked further back in the thread. Silly me for not starting at the start. If they're Black Russians, they should be a little darker overall, but ripe BRs do usually maintain a green-ish shoulder.
Yes, excessive heat can leave the shoulders green and firm. The chlorophyll, the green pigment, breaks down as the toms ripen. Excessive heat interferes with the breakdown. If the toms are otherwise ripe, or close to ripe, harvest them and take them inside.
Morning Ital...yes, the toms are ripe, but wit the firm, green tops.
I've been cutting the top part off and eating the rest, so will taking the picked toms and putting them outside, thus reducing the heat, help the green tops to ripen?
I suspect the damage has already been done but you could try. I'd take them inside, away from the sun. Sit them upside down, on their shoulders, see what happens. Always better to sit them on their shoulders. Sitting them on their bottoms invites bruising.
And try to lower the temps in your GH to help the toms still coming.
Yeah those are the Black Russians. Though they’re just red Russians at the minute. I’m resisting the temptation to pick them and wait till they darken up a bit.
Hopefully if the weather cools off and bit and we get the rain that the weather man promises, the rest of them won’t have the green shoulders. We’ll see.
I'm glad you've got the right Black Russians! There's a variety called Russian Black which is a smaller, rounder shape. Because of the name similarity, seed companies have been known to confuse them, leaving some very confused and disappointed growers.
Do you think you can tell Alicante from money maker? All my labels got mixed up. They’re both medium sized round red tomatoes, but I’ve no idea which is which.
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Think I’d better stock up on mozarella for all the caprese salad we’ll be eating. And I feel a batch of ketchup may be needed.
Just a quick question about green shoulders. Will they eventually turn red or shall I just pick them once the rest of the tomatoe looks ripe? Thanks
EDIT. Just looked further back in the thread. Silly me for not starting at the start. If they're Black Russians, they should be a little darker overall, but ripe BRs do usually maintain a green-ish shoulder.
I've been cutting the top part off and eating the rest, so will taking the picked toms and putting them outside, thus reducing the heat, help the green tops to ripen?
And try to lower the temps in your GH to help the toms still coming.
Hopefully if the weather cools off and bit and we get the rain that the weather man promises, the rest of them won’t have the green shoulders. We’ll see.