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All my tomatoes are still green!

tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
in Fruit & veg
Hi 

I have 6 tomatoe plants - 3 in my veg bed; and 3 in pots. All of them have green tomatoes! Im concerned that theyre not going to ripen in time before winter.

Ive topped them off, and constantly removing any new suckers. What else can I do to promote energy to the ripening process? Cut off more foliage?

Thanks
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Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    You can cut the bottom leaves off up to the 1st truss.
    i think your area is warmer than ours,  the only way I can get red tomatoes is to sow seeds at the start of Feb then keep potting on and keep inside,  our best weather here is always around May/June and I have to make sure they have firsts fruits by then.

    I have green ones as well,  I didn’t sow the seeds until end of March,  silly really , I wasn’t going to grow any at all then changed my mind...too late.
    I don’t like green tomatoes, don’t make jars of chutney so if we don’t get some fantastic weather now they will be on the compost.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If they start ripening a bit in the next week or two, you can cut them off and bring them indoors, and most should ripen.  :)

    Like @Lyn, they have to be undercover here. I don't sow until mid March, because the greenhouse isn't warm enough [especially overnight]  until around May, to put them in there. I've got quite a lot of green ones still and whether they'll ripen is debateable, although it's been warmer here this month than normal which helps a bit. I don't like chutney etc either, so it's all about timing now. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited August 2021
    I keep them indoors,  my GH wouldn’t be warm enough either.
    we are supposed to be getting a warm spell but I don’t think the nights will be much better at this time of the year. 

    Just to add,  I’ve only had one meal off the runner beans so far,  few more off the French beans, they must be hardier plants. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Glasgowgardener777Glasgowgardener777 Posts: 41
    To contradict someone above, stop watering them. Forces them to divert all energy in to growing the tomatoes. As soon as you get a noticeable change in colour, get them inside in a paperbag.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Once they turn from dark to paler green you can remove them from the plant and keep them indoors ... they'll be red in a few days. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    Ours are mostly green too - but picked 6 ripe ones today.
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    There's time yet. I wouldn't worry unduly just at the moment.
  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    I too pick them when they change colour slightly and ripen them indoors. My reason being, there are squirrels around and they gnaw on the tomatoes when they're ripe.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Overloaded here ( SW Somerset) - freezer full of tom sauce and salad toms for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Given plenty away too.  Considering the "summer", it's not too bad but commiserations to all ( and there seems to be plenty ) who have lost their crop to Blight.  
  • tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
    Thanks all. Just thought Id post some photo so you can see what Im working with.  :s

    These have done absolutely nothing for weeks! Theres only 3 trusses on this plant!



    Again, this has done nothing for weeks and only a few trusses:



    The past week a few have turned orange:



    These 3 plants are the ones Im most concerned about. No lack of tomatoes, just a complete lack of non-green tomatoes! (apart from 2 yellow ones). Perhaps I should remove a lot of the foliage? (Tomorrow I will remove all foliage up to the first truss as per @Lyn's suggestion):



    I thought having more foliage would help gather more energy from the sun and put it into ripening the tomatoes. Im obviously wrong.

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