How to ripen late tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

How to ripen late tomatoes? ›

In order to speed up the ripening process, all you need to do is trap the ethene gas in with the tomatoes by putting them in a paper bag, cardboard box or empty kitchen drawer. Add a ripening banana or apple, which will also give off ethene to help things along.

Add Another Ripe Fruit

Since other fruits release ethylene gas as they ripen, exposing a green tomato to another ripening fruit will help it mature faster. "If you need a tomato to ripen more quickly, put it in a paper bag with a ripe banana," Landercasper says.

Tomato plants fruit from June until the first frosts, thriving in the warm, light conditions of summer. However, the ripening process slows down as the days become shorter, so fruit that develops from September may not ripen before the first frosts arrive. Tomatoes ripen most quickly in a warm, light environment.

If nothing works, and by the end of September your tomatoes are still green, gardener and author Sarah Raven advises to 'pick the green tomatoes and bring them indoors to ripen on a sunny windowsill. ' So long as the fruit is of a decent size, it should still ripen at home.

When temperatures exceed 85 to 90 F, the ripening process slows significantly or even stops. At these temperatures, lycopene and carotene, pigments responsible for giving the fruit their typical orange to red appearance cannot be produced. As a result, the fruit can stay in a mature green phase for quite some time.

Tomatoes that have been given a head start on the vine have the best chance of ripening once picked. Give green tomatoes a little squeeze. If they give a little, the ripening process is already underway.

At the same time, tomatoes do not produce lycopene and carotene, the pigments responsible for ripe tomato color, when temperatures are above 85 deg. F. So, extended periods of extreme heat cause tomatoes to stop ripening. The resulting fruits often appear yellowish green to yellowish orange.

As fall arrives and temperatures consistently stay below 50°F, your tomatoes won't ripen anymore on the vine. As long as the green tomatoes have started to turn color a bit (you should see just a touch of color at the blossom end of the fruit) and are a little soft to the touch, there's a chance they'll ripen indoors.

You can also add them to Tex-Mex rice for a zesty flavor. Green tomatoes also make excellent ketchup, salsa, relish, and pickles. So even if your fruit doesn't all get ripe, there are still many yummy options to use up the crop. Don't let cooler fall temps and green tomatoes prevent you from reaping a full harvest.

Peak tomato season runs from May through October, but they're grown year-round in greenhouses and sales remain relatively unchanged throughout the year with a slight spike in March and again from July to October.

How to ripen tomatoes in a paper bag? ›

The tomato that is called "vine-ripened" is picked from the vine when pink color first shows at the blossom end. Ethylene gas is a ripening hormone. To ripen green fruit, place them in a paper bag along with either an apple or a banana and fold the bag closed.

Too much or too little warmth and light, as well as variable water and nutrient supplies, can all lead to disappointing ripening and fruit quality. These problems are usually seen on greenhouse-grown tomatoes, rather than those grown outdoors.