When to pick green
 

A question for other market growers...

I know in a perfect world we would pick groovy looking vine ripe maters and take them to market the same day or the next day and all would be swell. Of course, the world isn't perfect.

At what point would you pick green and let ripen inside for a few days? I have been grabbing them as soon as I see a slight change in tint, especially the low ones near the ground, which there are a lot of now.

I wouldn't mind picking sooner, as there are some really large, clean ones.

Whats too early?

Thanks!

I also pick at first blush. If I don't, the birds will get to them. I don't think you can pick any sooner than that as you have no idea when a green tomato will start to turn red. I don't, anyway.

Keger,
It's always best to pick vine ripe tomatoes for market. The main reason is that they taste better and customers like vine ripe over tomatoes that picked early and ripened inside. Do a simple comparison when you have some vine ripe tomatoes. Ripen a green tomato inside and compare the taste between the vine ripe tomato and the one that you've ripened inside. I'm sure that you will taste the difference. You can pick a tomato at almost any stage and get them to ripen. Flavor and quality fall off the earlier you harvest your tomatoes. Also compare the interior of the vine ripe tomato to the early green tomato that has been ripened indoors. You will see a distinctive difference in the color of the gel and pericarp tissue (it's red not green or white). The flavor is the most important thing about tomatoes and that's why I try not to pick when they're green. It's always nice when you see customers at the market make a beeline to your stand because of a reputation for great tasting tomatoes. But if you pick your tomatoes while they're still green, a helpful way to get them to ripen is to place them in a box with a couple of apples, and close the lid. In a couple of days you'll see nice ripe tomatoes. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. There would have to be a definitive reason for me to pick my tomatoes early, otherwise I don't harvest unless they are vine ripe. It's no different than harvesting strawberries, apples, or any vegetable. It's always better to enjoy a fruit or vegetable fresh and ripe from the garden.
dpurdy

I'm bring mine in a t blush. I've lost too many to birds and ants.
I had a bird eat a huge green one just today. Makes me so mad!

But if you pick your tomatoes while they're still green, a helpful way to get them to ripen is to place them in a box with a couple of apples, and close the lid. In a couple of days you'll see nice ripe tomatoes. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening.

%%%%%%

Several decades ago I did that until I learned it's the same method that the growers in Fl and elsewhere use to ripen up tomatoes that give us those pink anemic ones in the winter. They gas them in huge rooms and if you look at most commercial catalogs you'll see that certain varieties are said to bemore gassable, if you will.

I used to bring fruits to a farm stand to be sold as well as to several restaurants. And I never brought them fully ripened fruits b'c there's no way they can use them that quickly and then they rot.

So I picked only half ripe fruits and they were happy and I was happy. At the Farm stand I had to go every few days to remove the ones with cracks and those that were too ripe, and the poundage was subtracted from what the initial poundage was whenI brought them in.

Carolyn

[QUOTE=dpurdy;348079]Keger,
It's always best to pick vine ripe tomatoes for market. The main reason is that they taste better and customers like vine ripe over tomatoes that picked early and ripened inside. Do a simple comparison when you have some vine ripe tomatoes. Ripen a green tomato inside and compare the taste between the vine ripe tomato and the one that you've ripened inside. I'm sure that you will taste the difference. You can pick a tomato at almost any stage and get them to ripen. Flavor and quality fall off the earlier you harvest your tomatoes. Also compare the interior of the vine ripe tomato to the early green tomato that has been ripened indoors. You will see a distinctive difference in the color of the gel and pericarp tissue (it's red not green or white). The flavor is the most important thing about tomatoes and that's why I try not to pick when they're green. It's always nice when you see customers at the market make a beeline to your stand because of a reputation for great tasting tomatoes. But if you pick your tomatoes while they're still green, a helpful way to get them to ripen is to place them in a box with a couple of apples, and close the lid. In a couple of days you'll see nice ripe tomatoes. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. There would have to be a definitive reason for me to pick my tomatoes early, otherwise I don't harvest unless they are vine ripe. It's no different than harvesting strawberries, apples, or any vegetable. It's always better to enjoy a fruit or vegetable fresh and ripe from the garden.
dpurdy[/QUOTE]

Like I said, if the world was perfect that's what I would do.

We had cool weather up until a week ago that knocked everything back, and now its turned off 95 with a hot south wind.

I am only asking for ideas, as it's tough down here for tomatoes.

I'm so close to doing peppers, okra, peas, melons, eggplant and cukes. Not because I want to, but you can grow them much less expensively and you actually have stuff to sell.

I cant keep dedicating space for product that yields 40% or so of marketable stuff.

[QUOTE=Keger;348041]At what point would you pick green and let ripen inside for a few days? I have been grabbing them as soon as I see a slight change in tint, especially the low ones near the ground, which there are a lot of now.

I wouldn't mind picking sooner, as there are some really large, clean ones.

Whats too early?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps these might be helpful

[B]At First Blush, Harvest Tomatoes[/B]
[URL]http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/sty/2005/harvest_tomatoes071805.htm[/URL]

[B]Vine ripen or pull early and ripen indoors
[/B][URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=23427[/URL]

[B]Saving seeds from slightly unripe tomato
[/B][URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=9349[/URL]

[B]Poll: Taste Test on ripening tomatoes on the vine vs. ripening inside
[/B][URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?p=228951[/URL]

For our personal use, we find that watching for the star at the blossom end, then picking them any time after that, depending upon weather, etc. and bringing them into a room temperature countertop or shelf that is *not* in the sun produces good tomatoes with less risk of damage than leaving them out until fully ripe.

[QUOTE=Keger;349284]Like I said, if the world was perfect that's what I would do.

We had cool weather up until a week ago that knocked everything back, and now its turned off 95 with a hot south wind.

I am only asking for ideas, as it's tough down here for tomatoes.

I'm so close to doing peppers, okra, peas, melons, eggplant and cukes. Not because I want to, but you can grow them much less expensively and you actually have stuff to sell.

I cant keep dedicating space for product that yields 40% or so of marketable stuff.[/QUOTE]
Keger, I would also suggest a floating row cover over the plants. It will help keep the plants cooler and not quite so stressed. I just put white woven floating row cover right on top of the plants. If you can do an arch over the plants, great, but if not at least try to shade them with it anyway you can. peg it pin it or weight it down (we buy "ground cover" fabric bags from a supplier that we just fill with rocks from the garden and weight the covers down so they can't blow away.

[URL="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://awaytogarden.com/files/2010/08/usda-tomato-ripeness-color-chart.gif&imgrefurl=http://awaytogarden.com/theres-more-than-one-way-to-ripen-a-tomato&h=496&w=730&sz=193&tbnid=bsu-Y_n96RPBRM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=132&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtomato%2Bcolor%2Bchart%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=tomato+color+chart&usg=___IbX38gA0Vw2AsUQEP8JnTP_7IU=&docid=SUz1fFRCNvzfjM&sa=X&ei=02edUfTsJO_H0AGfwoG4BA&ved=0CDAQ9QEwAA&dur=1491"]http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://awaytogarden.com/files/2010/08/usda-tomato-ripeness-color-chart.gif&imgrefurl=http://awaytogarden.com/theres-more-than-one-way-to-ripen-a-tomato&h=496&w=730&sz=193&tbnid=bsu-Y_n96RPBRM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=132&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtomato%2Bcolor%2Bchart%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=tomato+color+chart&usg=___IbX38gA0Vw2AsUQEP8JnTP_7IU=&docid=SUz1fFRCNvzfjM&sa=X&ei=02edUfTsJO_H0AGfwoG4BA&ved=0CDAQ9QEwAA&dur=1491[/URL]


[URL]http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/postharv/tomatoes/tomat.html[/URL]