5 Tricks to Ripen Tomatoes Faster on the Vine

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Tired of being stuck with green tomatoes in the Fall?

Here's why your tomatoes may not be ripening and how you can get them to ripen faster on the vine!

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TEMPERATURE

Tomatoes won’t turn red if it’s too hot (above 85°F, or 29.4°C) or too cold (below 50°F, or 10°C ). This is probably the biggest culprit for most people, especially during a heatwave.

PLANT IS OVERGROWN

When that happens, they tend to spend most of their energy on producing leaves and flowers, rather than ripening tomatoes.

TOO MANY GREEN TOMATOES

When your tomato plant is covered with small, immature fruits, they can steal energy away from ripening the mature ones. 

CUT OFF THE NEW GROWTH

Topping the plant and cutting off all the new foliage will give it more energy to ripen tomatoes faster.

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TRIM THE FLOWERS

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This late in the season, it’s a pretty sure bet that new flowers aren’t going to amount to anything. So pick off all the flowers.

PINCH THE SUCKERS

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Suckers are the smaller stems that form between a branches and leaf joint. They get their name because they suck energy from the plant.

PLUCK OFF TINY TOMATOES

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I know it’s hard to remove any tomatoes from the plant, but these poor little babies won’t have time to mature before frost.

PRUNE SOME OF THE LEAVES

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Don’t cut off all of the leaves. But if your plant is huge and full of healthy green leaves, you can trim off much of that vigorous growth.

Pickling green tomatoes is easy, delicious and a great way to use up your bounty. 

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