pick'em now

[NCTIM]

The heavy rains are coming at worst time for my tomatoes. The much anticipated first ripe Cherokee Purple's and a few other varieties is coinciding with all this rain. The result is a lot of splitting and cracking.

I avoided this problem last year by picking early and letting them ripen on the counter. Just like everything else this year, I was a day late and messed these first few up.

The excuse is the same, way too much going on . My to do list (written by my loving wife) is a page long and tomatoes aren't on it.

Tim

[feldon30]

Ah yes, the Honey-do list.

[travis]

Okay ...

Well, I just got back from my country garden. Seems Indian Stripes don't crack so bad as Cherokee Purples did after a good, dry hot spell followed a hard, hard rain.

But, there's other problems ... and not just blossom end rot, which didn't show up on the Indian Stripes either, but did on nearly everything else ... BIRDS & STINKIN' RABBITS. Boy do they love Indian Stripes.

And from the two I was able to salvage, I can see why. Yes, I picked some breakers and blushers while I was out there because the last two I got a week ago ripened up on my counter and tasted better than anything I've tasted in over 6 months.

PV

[QAGuy]

Your list is only a page long????

Lucky son-of-a gun!

[PNW_D]

Thought about starting a new thread, but seems it would fit in here, so .......

Attempting to clear the clutter these days, and came across “The Pacific Gardener” by A.R. Willis (2nd Edition). Keep in mind this book was written for the Pacific Northwest – but a rather interesting paragraph caught my eye where the book fell open:

“… if the season is late and there are still a lot of greenish white, but mature, tomatoes on the vines, these will ripen in a few weeks storage at house temperatures, provided they haven’t been chilled (45 deg. F.) for more than a day or two before harvest. (This bit has been proved not quite correct by recent posts), but here is the interesting bit ….

If heavy rains occur during late August, when there is still a good chance of ripening weather, tomatoes may split unless the vines are pulled from the ground immediately, with just one or two roots still attached to the soil. In this way they may ripen up for a long time without injury. (Keep in mind this book was written in 1964, and it seems the August rains are a things of the past here – but this might be worth a try for whenever the big rains arrives. I take it the few remaining roots serve as a life line for the tomatoes, without allowing too much water to reach the almost ripe fruit.)

FWIW ………