Getting the Most Out of Your Tomato Harvest Before the First Frost
by John Yazo
When the growing season is getting close to the end, fall starts to set in and there is an enormous amount of green tomatoes still on the vine. Once there is the feel of cooler weather there are things that can be done to get the most out of your harvest.
If you have a few weeks still left before the first expected frost is going to hit your area and there are tomatoes on the vine that need to ripen, remove the smaller of the fruit from the vine leaving the more matured or larger green fruit to ripen. Prune back any new shoots and blossoms, leaving the branches with fully formed leaves attached. These fully formed leaves are what supplies the nutrients to the fruit. Pruning the plants will direct resources needed by the fruit for it to mature. It takes a lot of energy for fruit to fully mature. If time is running out and you want to get the most matured fruit possible, you may have to remove some of the green fruit and ripen what you can. You may not be able to ripen them all on the vine.
Before the first frost hits and your plants start to die down, pick and bring the fruit indoors to ripen. Extended exposure to cool temperatures interferes with the ripening process and flavor development. Clip the fruit, leaving a very short stem attached, but one long enough to puncture holes in other tomatoes and stems that are detached from the fruit will leave an open spot on the fruit for decay to set in. It is important to leave a small stem attached.
If you would like to comment on this website or have any suggestions please feel free to contact us
