Unripe tomatoes

I don't have any ripe tomatoes yet. Should I cut off the top of the plants so I don't get any more blossoms?

Guess it depends on what kind you are growing. If determinates, definitely do NOT cut anything.

I don't even sucker my plants. Do you have any fruit at all on the plants? Green ones? Or not getting any fruit at all? Are the plants HUGE? Or normal-sized?

Let's start there, okay?

Another question or two if I may: What tomatos did you plant? When did you plant them?

I've got some nice looking tomatoes on the majority of my plants. Some have none. I planted Red Oxheart, Mariana's Peace, San Marzano, Magnum Beef and Ultimate Giant. I planted three plants on 5/4/03 with the Wall o Waters that Shoe sent me and only one survived. I planted everything else in the middle of June. Everything was delayed because of rain. Shoe, one plant is huge, that's the one that survived the 5/4/03 planting. Everything else seems about average size. I guess I'm afraid I won't have any ripe tomatoes before frost. Thanks for your help.

Those Wall o Waters work fairly well as long as you get sunshine to heat up the water. I think ya'll had some dreary days (like so many of us this year)!

If you have decent-sized green maters I think you are doing fine, Elsie. Not sure when your first frost is tho.

If you like, and if the maters are of good size, you can root prune them, and that will trick them into ripening faster! (Shhhh...you have to sneak up on the plants if you do that.)

Take a butcher knife, serrated edge works best, OR a shovel and cut the roots on one side of the plant, about 8 inches away from the main stalk. You can go around it half way if you like. Cut down one shovel depth. This will freak out the plant and make it kick into high gear (thinking it better make some seed to have offspring) (or so they say!). The maters will soon start turning color.

(Folks who enjoyed being the first to have ripe maters would often use this technique. Why not give it a try, eh?)

Shoe, does that trick to get ripe tomatoes faster really work??? I've never heard of such a thing.

Yes... but I'd let the maters be of good size before you do it. Once you root prune they will not gain in size but will begin to ripen.

If they are indeterminates, as the severed roots heal then new flowers/fruits will come on.

Next yr, I should do a study with pics. That would be a fun project!

Shoe, I have heard that before but never tried it. I think I'll try it with a couple of plants. We can get frost as early as the end of this month so I think it's worth giving it a try.

This wasn't the spring to try the Wall o Waters. Way too cold and rainy. Actually I'm kinda surprised that I have any tomatoes at all. Thanks Shoe.

Sounds to me like this would be a great yr to experiment, see how it works. Try it out on a plant or two, and then compare how it does with one you didn't try it on.

and be sure to let us know!

I will do that. Shoe, should I leave the new blossoms on the plant?

Another way to hasten ripening, other than root pruning, seems easier to me and also works.

Just pull up on the plants and twist as you do so. of course don't pull OUT the plant. Doing this also severs the feeder roots.

But again, I feel it's best to do this when fruits have some color on them. It just isn't the way to go with only green tomatoes on the vine, or it makes it no difference than harvesting the green fruits and trying to ripen them off the vine, which I personally think is a waste of time based on what grass green ripened tomatoes taste like, which is pretty much the same as ethylene gassed, shipped in fruits.

Carolyn

Ten-four on that, Caroln. Maybe twist on the "trunk" near ground level?
(By the way folks, I've used that system for cabbages where the heads are splitting due to getting to much water/rain. Twist the head and it doesn't allow water to continue on to the head, thereby causing it to swell and split.)

No, Elsie, I wouldn't take off the flowers unless you are badly lacking in time for them to begat fruits. Frost/cold weather gonna hit you this month? Usually our first frost will appear, but then we go for another couple weeks with good weather. If your weather is the same then cover your plants when you hear of the frost approaching...hopefully your weather will also same fairly warm enuff to either ripen the maters or get them up in size. (If the new fruits get good-sized but stay green, there's always green fried tomatoes!)

I noticed today on one plant, it looked like the tomato was changing color. So, I think I'll let nature take it's course. You're right Shoe, we usually do have some very warm weather after the first frost. I love fried green tomatoes, but I'm really longing for a sandwich - you know what I mean? Shoe and Carolyn, thank you very much for your help.

I was just about to suggest fried green tomatoes, being from the south and all. They are quite yummy--use cornmeal though, not flour. Much better that way!

My mom made homemade "raspberry" jelly once with the green tomatoes. She put raspberry jello in with pureed green tomatoes. If you have had real raspberry jelly (and I have), it's just NOT the same.