Topic: Tomatoes not ripening

[Jill]

Dunno EJ.  Have same prob with my courgettes - bucket loads of yellows and only a few greens so far.

But I do have my first red tomato and orange habanero chilli of the season as of today so I'm happy ;D ;D ;D

[Roy Bham UK]

You mean like this?
Take heart - they've all been picked except this last one! Yes, they are small ones.

 ;D Cheers Tim ;D Exactly like that :) Glad I left it attached now as there are a good few on the truss.

I do so love this Lottie growing, ;D my first year and everything is coming up roses ;D and do you remember us all moaning about May (was it? or March :-\) being a cold start and things lagging behind ;D Tee hee, I'm a very happy chappy ;D

[wardy]

I'll do that Tim  :)

[john_miller]

Also, lots of yellow peacevine in the greenhouse and they are sugar sweet.

Yellow? From the seeds I sent you? They are supposed to be red!

I saw on another website when I first started to try to find out why my toms were not ripenening (Still not), this suggestion about too much heat preventing ripening, & some American wrote to say that if that was the case, half the states in the US would not be able to grow tomatoes!

At any one time of year not all states can produce tomatoes. For us in the Northern states, no surprise here, summer is our production time. This site:
http://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/janfeb02/tomatorganic.html mentions why the Southern states have problems during the summer in the "adapted varieties" section. Excessive heat is the factor down there.

John, but doesn't ethylene regulate some of the ripening processes? I was taught that auxin and other hormones involved in growth help to generate it in various plant tissues, which have receptors which then respond to ethylene in different ways, one of which is ripening. The ethylene also helps to degrade chlorophyll, hence its use for citrus fruits.
But I'm a rookie when it comes to botany - discuss!

Thank you for this jenny as your comments spurred me to some research. I was taught that ethylene was responsible for senescence and death. Judging by what I found the understanding of the function of ethylene has moved on considerably since then (30 years ago unfortunately) although, as I understand it, it's production, and that of the other hormones, is still governed by genetic responses to phenological stimuli as received by the plant during different stages of growth. I'm not sure if this was well understood back then. Alternatively. of course, I simply forgot!

[jennym]

Nice to see you back John, I missed you.

[dicky]

Atlast my money makers are starting to turn red, my gardeners delight have benn keeping me going a treat and hopefully some will survive the force 27 gale that is blowing out there.

Finally got the first pepper this year, those are going in earlier next year.

But the courgette has been had by mildew

[Garden Manager]

Boy you should've seen the tomatoes I picked last night. Filled a dessert bowl with a selection of Shirleys, Gardeners Delight and Gartenperle (a cherry tumbler type - really nice).

After all the worries that they wouldnt ripen in time, we are now picking faster than we can eat them! ::)

[tim]

As Svea says - 2nd week in August.

We've been picking ittybits - enough - since late June, but this is the first REAL PICK!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Has anyone had any ripe outdoor tomatoes yet? I spotted two red ones the other day.

[Maddy]

Fantastic tomatoes Tim, mine aren't nearly as impressive.

Robert_Benchley mine are growing outdoors but in containers on a patio, is this half way between a normal garden and a greenhouse?

I was also wondering if on really hot days I should water my patio?  It does get incredibly hot, certainly too hot for my bare feet, will this also be too hot for my tubs?  Any advice gratefully received.

M.

[tim]

I binned our outdoor ones, because they were going nowhere.

[Svea]

my outdoor ones have been growing very well. probably since about the second week of august (thanks tim, i forgot i mentioned that ;)) first only a couple, now enough every day to fill both hands - made vodka tomatos last night to take to a party. night before had roasted cherry toms with garlic and sea salt stirred into spaghetti. my plums are a little slower/later, they are starting now. i am expecting a glut any day and will have to have a cooking passata session soon :)

PS: my tom plants are planted in soil, against a wall. so i guess they benefit at night from the warmth the wall will radiate. i have 10 plants in total - 5 GD and 5 San Marzano (plums) and this seems to be enough/about right for the two of us :)

[wardy]

I've picked my first G Delight from the ones planted at home in my garden.  My husband broke one with the mower - mowed right into it  >:( >:(

[tim]

Must try the Vodka ones!

Mine, of course, are indoors.

[Roy Bham UK]

I tried those yellow toms yesterday for the first time, given to me by one of my lottie friends and they were delish, quite different from the norm and very tasty. :P ;D

What are yours Tim? as I must try those next year if they will grow without a greenhouse. 8)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I ate my first outdoor tomato today, a few more are reddening, most are still obstinately green.

[tim]

I wouln't grow the yellow ones (Galina) again, Roy - I find them very bland.

Nectar, the bigger red cherry is as good as I have had & I shall always grow it again, but I don't know about outdoors.  Vida Verde suggest Aurora as 'very early', & Simpsons mark Santa (bottom left) as 'early'. We always grow that, but it's definitely a 'plum'. Some folk might prefer the juicyness of a standard. Simpsons also note Matt's Wild Cherry as having blight resistance.

In your shoes, I would ring the supplier & check for your conditions.

[Roy Bham UK]

Thanks for that Tim, I wonder if they were a different variety then? These had a sweet distinctive taste but still tomatery that tickled my must have more taste buds. ;D

I'll ask her what variety they were next time we meet at the Lottie. 8)

[tim]

Very unlikely that it would have been Galina - it's a bit unusual.

And yes, yellow cherries can be great - & better for arthritis sufferers.

[Anne Robertson]

PLEASE a little more about the vodka tomatoes ;D
I've got vodka and toms, how do I combine them?