Ripen off the vine?

[Captain Neon]

I prefer to leave mine on the vine, but if I see blush I will pick for the following reasons: impending storm or won't be able to get to the garden when they are fully ripe. I had a delectable Brandywine BLT paired with an only slightly less delectable Brandy Boy BLT last night. Both were picked green and both were delicious. Without a Brandywine to compare, I don't think most people would be able to tell difference between Brandywine or Brandy Boy.

[Shapshftr]

I read somewhere that they have to have that white star pattern on the bottom for greenies to ripen off the vine. I never tested that out. But I do know from past experience that green ones I picked before frost, never did ripen for me.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Shapshftr

I read somewhere that they have to have that white star pattern on the bottom for greenies to ripen off the vine. I never tested that out. But I do know from past experience that green ones I picked before frost, never did ripen for me.

I've had a lot of tomatoes picked before "mature green" that "ripened". They colored up fully and got soft. But they tasted terrible.

[bower]

Sense of taste is always individual. Green tomatoes don't agree with me even fried. And unripe immature green tomatoes, which can even be coaxed to color up eventually, had a foul bitter taste on them for me; not worthy of repeat.
On the other hand, many varieties picked mature green have ripened very nicely for me and were nice textured and tasty. And it's sweet to have a "fresh" tomato in December, that ripened on the sideboard.

[Shapshftr]

Originally Posted by gorbelly

I've had a lot of tomatoes picked before "mature green" that "ripened". They colored up fully and got soft. But they tasted terrible.

Wow, they must have been feeding off themselves to ripen. Mine just stayed green for over a month, so I threw them out.

[creeker]

It took about 6 weeks for all of mine to ripen otv last year. Didn't eat them fresh then but dried them in a heated drier. Tasted great then. We use them in soups and casseroles, even put them on pizza. They have a very intense tomato flavor when dried.

[Gardeneer]

I have been doing a ripening on the counter test. here are some picture :

9th august : The test tomatoes are on the right and left of a ripe tomato.
As you can see there hardly a hint of color break. But I was sure that they were full size and mature.
Aug- 9.jpg

Two days later:
Aug-11.jpg

Three days later
Aug 12.jpg

Right now ( early morning on Aug 14 th) They are fully red and ripe. So it took them about 4 days. Their counter parts did not ripen on the vine as quickly.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Right now ( early morning on Aug 14 th) They are fully red and ripe. So it took them about 4 days. Their counter parts did not ripen on the vine as quickly.

I find that picking the fruit kicks it into ripening unless it's kept in very cool conditions. Mature green fruits can hang on the vine forever and ever, but once you pick them, they seem to have no choice but to ripen or rot. In other words, fruit on the vine ripens much more rapidly than fruit picked green and ripened indoors once it starts to turn, i.e., if you take 2 fruits that have started to blush, one on the counter and one on the vine, the one on the vine will be almost completely ripe seemingly overnight or in 2 days max, but the one on the counter can take several days to get completely ripe. However, given 2 mature green fruits, one picked and one left on the vine, the one that is picked will get to breaker right away but the one on the vine could stay there on the plant for weeks without turning.

Also, the tomato plant seems to have its own illogical way of determining when fruit should ripen, as the first fruit to ripen is frequently not the first to reach mature size, and sometimes, there is a long staggering between ripening subsequent fruits while at other times, all the fruit ripens at once regardless of mature size (these are all observations in indeterminate plants, as the latter behavior would not be strange in determinate plants).

[SharonRossy]

Gardeneer, your photos give me hope. I picked several like yours that were green without the blush. I've had a couple ripen (smaller ones) but the larger ones I was sure were mature and brought them in before the squirrels discovered them. I've been away for a few days so I'll be anxious to see how they are doing on my kitchen counter, out of direct sunlight.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by SharonRossy

Gardeneer, your photos give me hope. I picked several like yours that were green without the blush. I've had a couple ripen (smaller ones) but the larger ones I was sure were mature and brought them in before the squirrels discovered them. I've been away for a few days so I'll be anxious to see how they are doing on my kitchen counter, out of direct sunlight.

Sharon.,
If the tomato is grown to mature size ( green fades away ) then it should ripen on the counter. But to be sure I would watch for a hint of color break before picking.
Look at the 3rd smaller green tomato in all the pictures . It never did get any color and still sitting on the counter unchanged.

[Gardeneer]

I picked another tomato (Sakharnyi Zheltyi ) today, to let ripen on the counter.
I will post follow up.

[HudsonValley]

I've been picking at the blushing stage from a few plants to avoid bird damage (rival cardinals and bluejays, along with mockingbirds, crows, and others I can't identify) for the past two weeks. I originally had netting around these plants, but pulled it down after a chipmunk got tangled up and died, and I just couldn't bring myself to put it back up. The tomatoes ripen in a ventilated box. A few have gone soft, but they also had severe cracking caused by heavy rain. Most varieties taste great ripened this way! Black Krim and Abe Lincoln do not.

[Captain Neon]

No rain expected for today, but three days of rain forecast the rest of the week. I will be picking at blush today so they don't go bad by Sunday. I plan to mix up another batch of ketchup for the crockpot tonight.