Petals & Roots is a weekly video series fronted by me, Rachel Bull, Head of Gardens at Homes & Gardens. Every Sunday on social, I share my seasonal gardening and flower arranging expertise and advice.
I will not abide people trying to give me recipes for green tomato chutney. Do not say it. I cannot tolerate it. Alas, if your tomato plants look anything like mine at this time of year, you can perhaps forgive those who want to assist in the only way they know how.
Well, gardeners, you must not give up hope. Your healthy crops of fruit may still be green, and the diminishing warmth may not be giving us copious amounts of hope that they’ll turn red anytime soon. However, if you are growing tomatoes for the first time this year, there are three easy steps you can take now to give your fruits the best chance of ripening on the vine, before the risk of frosts starts to rear its head.
In the latest episode of Petals & Roots, my weekly gardening series for Homes & Gardens, I take you through what to do to get tomatoes to ripen on the vine more quickly. Here, I expand my advice further, so you’ll get the absolute most out of your delicious crops.
Step one: Remove leafy foliage to let light in
You don’t need to keep all that lovely tomato foliage on your plants once the fruits have formed. Even if it looks lush and healthy, it could be blocking light and warmth from reaching your tomatoes, and slowing down the ripening process as a result.
Remove foliage from the main stem using clean and sharp pruning shears, such as these Fiskars ones from Amazon. I actually prefer using snips like these ones from Walmart, as the foliage is so easy to cut through and they are gentle on the wrists.
Start at the base of the plant and work your way upwards. Doing this will allow the light to get to your fruits. It will also improve airflow, preventing your tomatoes from rotting under the excess leaves.
By this point in the year you can remove pretty much all the foliage to deposit on the compost heap, and simply leave the main stem and the fruits.
Step two: Snip off any flowers from your plants
Your plants will continue to produce new flowers, even this late into the season. However, these flowers won't have time to turn into ripe tomatoes before the frosts hit, so the best thing to do is to snip them off.
Wherever you see a vine with flowers on it, simply remove and compost.
What this does is focus all the plant's energy into the existing fruits, giving them a better chance of ripening and growing bigger.
Step three: Prune your tomato plants from the top
Healthy tomato plants love to keep putting on new growth, even when it's time to harvest tomatoes. But once you have four or five trusses of tumbling fruit, you don't need your plant to keep growing upwards.
Don't be afraid to prune tomato plants by locating the central stem and lopping off the top part, keeping all your healthy fruit below.
We want all that energy to be diverted into the existing vines and ripening fruits, to get the very best from your crops.
For the same reason, don't forget to pick any fruit that has ripened on the vine already.
These tips are the same whether you're growing tomatoes outside or in a greenhouse. The advantage of the latter is plants will be warmer and more sheltered from any inclement fall weather, giving fruits a better chance of ripening.
I always use a kneeling pad when I'm pruning and cutting back around the raised beds. Not only does it save my knees, it also has a detachable cover meaning I can keep it clean.
I recommend these pruners a lot, and for good reason. They are comfortable to use, easy to clean and I use them for pretty much everything in the cutting garden.
Possibly the easiest compost bin you'll ever set up, you can adjust its size to suit your space. It has excellent ventilation and is made in the USA.
Finally, if the mercury has dropped dramatically and hope is dwindling for your tomatoes, there is one more thing you can do.
Pick them when they are green and put your tomatoes with a banana. This could be in a bowl, a drawer or a paper bag.
Bananas release ethylene gas, which encourages fruit to ripen, so hopefully there will be no green tomato chutney on the menu for you this fall.
