I ended up having to buy plug plants from my garden centre – I normally grow my veggies from seed. Anyway, this year one plant got blossom end rot so I cut them all off repotted it in fresh soil and the second lot of growth was amazing. We’ve had a pretty hot summer here, but the weather has cooled down massively, there is far less sunlight and they’re just not turning red in time. I’ve had a few which tasted delicious but majority of them just don’t seem to be getting there. Is there a way I can force ripen or could I do something with green tomatoes?
by SoberShiv
13 Comments
leave them there until your area reaches about 4°C overnight then bag em with a banana indoors.
Green tomato chutney!
Any green ones I have left get turned into green tomato chutney, it’s perfect for the stragglers at the end of the season.
Always a tray of green tomatoes on the window sill at the end of the season, hoping they’ll ripen up.
I’m originally from Russia, so not the best climate for tomatoes. I recall my grandma would pick all the tomatoes at some point and lay them out in a room similar to conservatory here (glass walls, zero insulation). The picked tomatoes would then eventually ripen just by themselves. Not sure how this black magic worked.
I recall they were spread so that they didn’t touch each other. I think she left the stems on the tomatoes.
Hope this helps. They ended up tasting better than any other tomatoes apart from ones in Italy and Uzbekistan (which is fair).
I always make a late season chutney too. There’s a very good recipe by Nigel Slater from years ago that I use every year (it was in the Observer, I’m sure you can find it online). Good luck!
I ended up picking all of mine last weekend. Loads had split with all the rain, some were mouldy, and some of the plants had started to die off. So I picked all of them! Spent ages making various sauces and chutneys and things, but I’ve still got loads of green ones. I doubt they all would have ripened on the plants even if I’d left them there. So now I’m just hoping they’ll ripen indoors!
I’m still picking as they ripen against my south facing wall . I’m doing moneymaker cherry toms and they are so tasty 😋
If they’re pale green in colour, there’s a good chance they’ll ripen. At this stage of the season, it’s the heat and not the sun that does the work, which is why bringing them in and leaving them in the warmest room of the house can work. Adding a banana or apple can also help them ripen.
You can lacto-ferment them, they’re delicious! Plenty of recipes online.
I have my remaining green ones on a tray next to the windowsill. They are only taking a couple of days to ripen.
My son ‘accidentally’ snapped one of my tomato plants in half just over a week ago. All the green tomatoes from the top half have been sitting in a dish in the kitchen and about half of them have ripened so far. So don’t fear, there is still time to ripen on the plant or inside.
They’ll ripen off the plant. They don’t need light and they’ll ripen faster in a warmer spot than a cool one but either is fine.
It’s often better to pick them green in our climate because the skins can get really tough.