Why are my Toms so darn ugly and spliting and rotting? - Page 2

harleysilo · July 16, 2008

Okay i'm going to have to convince the wife that we SHOULD pick them green they will taste the same as vine ripened.

harleysilo · July 16, 2008

So "Vined Rippened" is a marketing gimick.....????

WVTomatoMan · July 16, 2008

Whoa who said anything about picking them green. I think you'll find that you have to wait until after they blush and start turning for best taste results.

In your pictures I see normal healing (white) and mold (black).

Randy

brog · July 16, 2008

hey Harley I live in Lilburn and have the same problem. I started picking at 1st blush--no rot--same taste. try it - it worked for me. Bill

**mdvpc** · July 16, 2008

Harley-Once you pick them, if you put them in a paper bag with a banana, or even put close to bananas, say in the same bowl, that will help them ripen. You need to make sure they have some blush on them, though.

WildLife · July 16, 2008

Quote:

Harley-Once you pick them, if you put them in a paper bag with a banana, or even put close to bananas, say in the same bowl, that will help them ripen. You need to make sure they have some blush on them, though.
__________________
Michael

OK, I heard this before, who can attest to its benefit?

HakaiRah · July 17, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildLife

OK, I heard this before, who can attest to its benefit?

Bananas are super producers of ethylene gas, which is why you want to keep them well away from anything that you don't want to ripen and thus spoil quickly. The ethylene gas is what triggers the tomatoes to ripen more quickly than they would on their own.

If you do a google search on ethylene gas, bananas, and tomatoes I'm sure some articles will pop up.

WildLife · July 17, 2008

thanks////////////////

tomakers · July 17, 2008

I also pick a lot of them a little after first blush and ripen on the counter. I have been doing it for years and have never noticed any difference in taste. I ALWAYS pick most of the close to ripe before ANY rain forecast. They ALL will split after a heavy rain. Why take the chance? You also get a lot less insect and bird damage.
JMO,
Tom

harleysilo · July 17, 2008

Okay, now for the difficult question, how do I know when my Mysterious Green tomatoes are blushing!?!?!?

dice · July 17, 2008

Quote:

how do I know when my Mysterious Green tomatoes are blushing!?

Now that is a good question. Maybe Grub has some notes from
last year, when they had La Nina rain all summer in Sydney.

feldon30 · July 17, 2008

I STRONGLY feel that "vine ripened" is a marketing gimmick.

Especially when the legal definition of vine ripened is breaker stage 2 which is an almost unnoticeable change from dark green to a slightly lighter green. It is not any kind of "blush" or obvious color change.

I think that most any tomato picked at first obvious color blush (2-4 days before ready) will taste identical to one left on the vine, without the risk of splitting, cracking, or insect or bird damage.

Maybe folks in New Jersey or California have the luxury of leaving tomatoes on the vine until they are ready to eat, but those of us in the Gulf and Southeast have too much unexpected rain, birds, bugs, and even 2 legged pests

to wait. Like I said, I would get to eat very few tomatoes if I waited until they were perfect before picking.

I suggest a blind tasting. Pick some when they are just blushing and hide them somewhere. Then bring them out when they're ripe nad slice them up next to one that was left longer on the vine. Ask your wife if she can tell the difference. You might have to blindfold her so she doesn't see the cracks, bird pecks, and bug bites on the one that was left on the vine.

shelleybean · July 17, 2008

I also pick them when the bottom half of the fruit has blushed, then let them finish on the counter. I don't think you really have to worry too much about splitting after rain unless they've started to turn color. We often have late afternoon and evening thunderstorms here and if it looks like we'll get rain, I run to the garden with my basket to rescue the tomatoes and zucchini.

barkeater · July 18, 2008

Yes, Harley, vine-ripened means mature green. It looks a lot different than "dark green." It is light green and you can see a star shaped pattern on the bottom, the blossom end.

Tomatoes ripen from the inside out.

In fact, University studies found that tomatoes were at peak flavor 3 days or more before full ripening. That is because the acids that give maters that sweet-tart flavor, break down when tomatoes are dead ripe. And dead is mentioned for a reason.

tomakers · July 20, 2008

Holy Mackeral!

Don't forget to pick the squash before a rain. Mine grow 6" it seems after a rain.
And yes, it is usually only the close to mature (not always red)

that will split after a rain, with the exception of cherries, which split if you look at them wrong.

JMO,
Tom

July 16, 2008	#19
brog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Lilburn GA Posts: 278	hey Harley I live in Lilburn and have the same problem. I started picking at 1st blush--no rot--same taste. try it - it worked for me. Bill __________________ Bill

July 16, 2008	#20
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Harley-Once you pick them, if you put them in a paper bag with a banana, or even put close to bananas, say in the same bowl, that will help them ripen. You need to make sure they have some blush on them, though. __________________ Michael

July 17, 2008	#24
tomakers Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cranberry Country, SE MA - zone 6? Posts: 353	I also pick a lot of them a little after first blush and ripen on the counter. I have been doing it for years and have never noticed any difference in taste. I ALWAYS pick most of the close to ripe before ANY rain forecast. They ALL will split after a heavy rain. Why take the chance? You also get a lot less insect and bird damage. JMO, Tom __________________ I never met a fish I didn't like.

July 17, 2008	#27
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	I STRONGLY feel that "vine ripened" is a marketing gimmick. Especially when the legal definition of vine ripened is breaker stage 2 which is an almost unnoticeable change from dark green to a slightly lighter green. It is not any kind of "blush" or obvious color change. I think that most any tomato picked at first obvious color blush (2-4 days before ready) will taste identical to one left on the vine, without the risk of splitting, cracking, or insect or bird damage. Maybe folks in New Jersey or California have the luxury of leaving tomatoes on the vine until they are ready to eat, but those of us in the Gulf and Southeast have too much unexpected rain, birds, bugs, and even 2 legged pests to wait. Like I said, I would get to eat very few tomatoes if I waited until they were perfect before picking. I suggest a blind tasting. Pick some when they are just blushing and hide them somewhere. Then bring them out when they're ripe nad slice them up next to one that was left longer on the vine. Ask your wife if she can tell the difference. You might have to blindfold her so she doesn't see the cracks, bird pecks, and bug bites on the one that was left on the vine. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

July 17, 2008	#28
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I also pick them when the bottom half of the fruit has blushed, then let them finish on the counter. I don't think you really have to worry too much about splitting after rain unless they've started to turn color. We often have late afternoon and evening thunderstorms here and if it looks like we'll get rain, I run to the garden with my basket to rescue the tomatoes and zucchini. __________________ Michele

July 16, 2008	#16
harleysilo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Woodstock GA Posts: 418	Okay i'm going to have to convince the wife that we SHOULD pick them green they will taste the same as vine ripened.

July 16, 2008	#18
WVTomatoMan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Virginia - Zone 6 Posts: 594	Whoa who said anything about picking them green. I think you'll find that you have to wait until after they blush and start turning for best taste results. In your pictures I see normal healing (white) and mold (black). Randy

July 17, 2008	#23
WildLife Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach, Calif Posts: 144	thanks////////////////

July 18, 2008	#29
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Yes, Harley, vine-ripened means mature green. It looks a lot different than "dark green." It is light green and you can see a star shaped pattern on the bottom, the blossom end. Tomatoes ripen from the inside out. In fact, University studies found that tomatoes were at peak flavor 3 days or more before full ripening. That is because the acids that give maters that sweet-tart flavor, break down when tomatoes are dead ripe. And dead is mentioned for a reason.

July 20, 2008	#30
tomakers Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cranberry Country, SE MA - zone 6? Posts: 353	Holy Mackeral! Don't forget to pick the squash before a rain. Mine grow 6" it seems after a rain. And yes, it is usually only the close to mature (not always red) that will split after a rain, with the exception of cherries, which split if you look at them wrong. JMO, Tom __________________ I never met a fish I didn't like.