Gardeners' World: How to make tomatoes ripen quickly
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There’s nothing better than a ripe, juicy home-grown tomato, especially if they’ve been grown from seed. However, with the weather cooling down and the days getting shorter, tomatoes don’t always ripen on the plant.
One of the worst methods people can use is popping green tomatoes in the fridge. This doesn’t ripen them and can also create an unpleasant texture within the fruit of the tomato.
However, tomatoes that are too hot will stop ripening altogether. So how can gardeners ripen their green tomatoes?
Angharad James, product manager at Phostrogen exclusively told Express.co.uk there are a “number of ways” to ripen green tomatoes but one method is “quicker” than the others.
She explained: “There are a number of ways to ripen your green tomatoes, all of which are simple to do.
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“If there are any flowers on your tomato plant after tomatoes have started to establish, trim them away as there is no chance of them now developing.
“This will allow more energy to be directed towards the existing tomatoes, helping them develop and ripen sooner.”
Angharad also said it’s important for tomatoes to be kept on the vine for as long as possible because this will allow every last drop of water and nutrients from fertiliser to travel up the root and nourish the plant.
With temperatures dipping significantly, the experts suggested bringing tomato plants indoors.
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The colder weather can slow down the ripening process of the tomato itself.
Once tomatoes have been picked, make sure to store them in a paper bag or container with a lid and place them in a warm location.
Angharad added: “Enclosing tomatoes will allow the ethylene gas – a natural plant hormone that regulates plant growth and helps them ripen through converting starch into sugar – to stimulate ripening much quicker.
“Make sure to check on them regularly and remove any ripened tomatoes as soon as possible.”
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Tomatoes and other fruit like avocados and bananas give off the natural plant hormone ethylene gas.
The gas is a natural plant hormone that regulates the plant’s growth and makes it ripen by converting the starch it stores into sugar.
Chris Hodges, head of marketing at Hozelock, also suggested putting tomatoes with a banana so the ethylene can help ripen the green tomatoes.
He said: “For tomatoes that haven’t ripened toward the end of the season, bring them inside and put a banana with them – the ethylene given off by the banana will help to ripen the fruit.”
Chris said tomatoes are incredibly popular due to their versatility and when it comes to cordon tomatoes – which are trained to grow on a single stem – it’s important to support the plants with a twine string.
The twine can be secured at the bottom of the plant and then twisted gently around the plant as it grows higher.
The tops of the plant should have been chopped off in August when the plant reached over two metres in height.
Once tomatoes are ripe, remove them from the bag or stem and eat them straight away.
For those with lots of green tomatoes, it might be best to pickle them or make green tomato chutney.
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