? about tomatoes still coming

Use Less · #1 09/29/12, 02:59 PM

I have lots of big tomatoes still coming. Lots are mostly shiny green. I've been picking everything that starts to turn every couple of days. The plants are still plenty bushy, but slumping, and some have put up new growth. Would it help or hinder ripening if I cut back the greenery? A lot? A little? We haven't had a frost yet, though down to 37 or 38' a few nights. (I covered 3 or 4 times so far.) This week we're expecting upper 60s/low 70s days and mid to upper
40s nights. Do the leaves help moderate the low temps? It is also very slow picking at this point because of obstruction from leaves. Zone 5. Thanks, Sue

jwal10 · #2 09/29/12, 03:44 PM

Cut off anything without tomatoes, don't water. Cover to keep from frosting. I cut some of them off and hang upside down in my shop and have ripe tomatoes until Thanksgiving at least. When the green ones start to turn, wrap individually in newspaper and let ripen....James

Marcia in MT · #3 09/30/12, 10:46 AM

As long as they daytime temperatures are below about 85° or so, you can keep floating row cover on the plants all day. Of course it will help protect them from frost at night, but it will also help them stay warmer (and they'll grow/ripen faster!) during the day.

Use Less · #4 10/01/12, 11:48 AM

Thanks to you both. I spent a couple hours cutting away LOTS of branches and new growth. One nice thing is that that has let more tomatoes lay right on the black plastic that were hanging above before. Also, I can see how much is there. I'll empty and pull the several plants that have under a dozen or so tomatoes towards the end of the week, since it is going to be gradually warmer till Thursday, but not nasty-cold until Sunday. That will make it easier to really cover well the ones with more left. Some plants have tomatoes in bunches, so I also cut off the ones smaller than golfballs, thinking the plants won't spend energy trying to get those to size then. I don't have actual row-cover, but I have a big bag of old netting for skirts or veils, so tomorrow I'm tucking some of that around the plants with the most fruit.