To pinch or not

[duajones]

My fall plants have really loaded up and continue to set fruit at a good pace. While I am happy with their performance, many of the fruit will never be harvested due to weather at some point. I have read where you can pinch off new blossoms to promote the maturation of the remaining fruit. Just wondering if any of you have experience with this technique and if it works

[carolyn137]

There are several ways of promoting maturation.

How much decent growing time do you have left, as how close to maturation are the majority of your fruits, which I think is the most important question to be asked in terms of what you might do.

[duajones]

I have fruit ranging in size from BB to right at full size. As far as decent growing time, we could get a freeze as early as this month through January. Then again it may not freeze at all

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by duajones

I have fruit ranging in size from BB to right at full size. As far as decent growing time, we could get a freeze as early as this month through January. Then again it may not freeze at all

If a freeze could come that soon I'd forget about the pinching and go directly to what Dice mentioned which is one of the ways of promoting ripening that I was going to mention to you

About 6-12 inches out from the main stem take a shovel and cut down maybe 6 inches or so. That severs the feeder roots and prevents continued nutrient transport.

An even easier way is to pull slightly on each plant twisting it as you do and that accomplishes the same thing.

[dice]

I do not think it could hurt them, and it is rumored to ripen fruit
already on the vine faster, so you do not have much to lose
by trying it. I do it, but I have not grown two plants of the
same cultivar side-by-side and pinched one but not the other
at end of summer, so I cannot say for sure how much difference
it makes.

Another thing to try is to take a shovel, go around a plant a
foot out from the stem, and cut the roots. I have not tried that,
but I have seen it recommended to ripen fruit already on the
vine faster. (It may only work to ripen fruit that are already
full-sized.)

[duajones]

I have already begun to pinch new blossoms off of the plants as I would be happy with the fruit that is on them now if they were to all ripen. I still have plenty of time left for now so I dont plan on doing any root pruning at this point.