The forecast for tonight says 34 degrees. That could mean 32 for me. Should I pick the green tomatoes and peppers I have? The tomatoes are just green - I believe not quite at the breaker stage. Later this week it'll be close 80 again. Forecast for tonight is patchy fog, not a hard freeze.

If you can cover them with sheets and blankets I would try that.

Depends on how many you have. If you have only a few plants you can try wrapping them in blankets or towels. Bubble wrap inside black plastic trash bags. Anything that insulates and is especially unsightly! Those one-night cold snaps followed by warm weather are frustrating. If they're in pots, moving them to a sheltered area like a porch or into dense shrubbery can work, too.


Edit to add: overlapped Pepper. We agree!

Thank you - I ended up picking one tomato showing a bit of color. I'll see what I have to cover the plants. Yes - frustrating that this very cold night is forecast. The rest of the week should not go below the mid-upper 30s.

Another question - would it make sense to cut off a stem containing a tomato or 2 and sticking the cut end in water in the house if the tomatoes show no sign of ripening yet? Probably not since nutrients come from the soil.

It would just rot done that way. It is better to just consider making green tomato relish...

Yea didn't think that was an option. If the tomatoes end up staying green, I will look up green tomato relish.

Stelcom66 said:...The rest of the week should not go below the mid-upper 30s...Another question - would it make sense to cut off a stem containing a tomato or 2 and sticking the cut end in water in the house if the tomatoes show no sign of ripening yet? Probably not since nutrients come from the soil.

Ya got me on that one, dunno. I don't think they would rot immediately, but I don't know what good it would do, either. I suppose it depends how far along the ripening is to start with. Maybe try it with one or two? Mid-upper 30s is going to dramatically slow ripening anyway. Warm soil is critical for tomatoes. If the days are still in the 80s and nights in 30s then nightly wrapping, pots and all, might be the way to go. Nature's got the upper hand here.

Stelcom, Didn't you have critters eating your tomatoes earlier this summer? Solve the problem?

Nutrients don't just come from soil, but the temps are what are vital to tomatoes, root temp, air temp, day light LENGTH, light strength...or else the nature clues for the tomato shut the plant down.

I covered the plants. Yes, many tomatoes were eaten (good memory!). I was able to pick several when they started to show signs of ripening, or the breaker stage (that I learned here thank you) which then ripened well in the house. My son dropped off a bunch of chicken wire he removed/didn't need that the previous homeowners installed, significantly higher than what I had. That'll be used next year. I still have 2 nice peppers to pick. He also gave me some of that green plastic fencing. Don't know if I'll use that. It seems that could be easily chewed through.

Growing season coming to and end here soon. How much longer do you have in New Mexico?

kittriana said:Nutrients don't just come from soil, but the temps are what are vital to tomatoes, root temp, air temp, day light LENGTH, light strength...or else the nature clues for the tomato shut the plant down.

That's about it for tomato season here. Split wood this weekend for the wood stove. Almost that time of year again. I am getting scallions again, you don't see those or chives in the summer.

I've still got one tomato plant ripening very slowly now, basil and assorted greens and herbs. We can usually expect the cold to set in early November, but the latest long-range forecast says warmer than usual through December. Who knows. Right now, mid-80s. Absolutely lovely. 👍

My brain kicked in late today, as usual. If you pull the tomato plants with tomatoes still on them, try hanging in a garage or warm place - with the roots, but UPSIDE Down- might ripen them faster as tomatoes cue to heat - er, temps for ripening as well. We could control how fast tomatoes ripened with a 4 day trip from Cali to NY by monitoring and controlling temps on the way.

I've tried placing green tomatoes in a box with an apple or two to encourage ripening...
Most rotted without turning. Seems like they need to have a certain maturity before picking..
Anymore... It works best for me to just leave them on the plant and use quilts after the temps have gotten cold enough that a sheet isn't enough.

Now, my hot peppers? I dig the entire plant and bring indoors... set them back out in the garden in the spring.

Fully green tomatoes won't ripen off the vine. They need to be at least at the "mature green" stage of development, also know as the "breaker" stage. There is an abundance of scientific articles about this on the web.

Putting tomatoes in a box, basket or what ever, wrapped in newspaper does ripen them ; speed depends on variety and age of green tomato BUT you must not let them touch and must check for ones that were soft, more ripe than you thought, to begin with.
For us, genuine bushel baskets work best and we put them in layers.

I have set tomatoes on a window ledge and they do ripen there but again, you had better check them as they will look just fine then you pick one up and it has a wet spot already underneath.
Oddly, I have, do put tomatoes that are turning already, but got knocked off of vine, on a hose cart outside, on the warmest side of the house, temps. are often five to ten degrees higher to to sun and being boxed in by a fence, yet they do not ripen well there at all, rather slowly if at all.

Optimum ripening temp is generally 68-70 degrees. Definitely not high heat or in full sun. Indoor temps are often just right.

RpR, all major agricultural universities have done extensive research on this topic—Cornell, Texas A&M, UC Davis, etc—and the information is available if you're willing to slog through technical papers and studies. The reasons so many store-bought tomatoes are sub-standard is that many grower/shippers cut corners and pick too soon, the shipments are held in cool storage too long to delay ripening, and those that will ripen are often not kept long enough by the consumer to reach maximum sugar content. In addition, the varieties hybridized for commercial use are often developed for shipping durability, not taste. Other studies, just as extensive, have studied the optimum ripening temperature.

There is a point in the ripening process when the plant shuts off the connection between stalk and fruit. Literally, like turning of a water faucet. At that point the plant no longer provides any nutrients at all to the fruit, but the fruit itself continues to develop sweetness and color whether it is on or off the vine. This is known as the "breaker stage." It varies somewhat by species, but it always takes place.

Here is an article that distills that process in understandable terms. It's long but readable. Read to the end.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/my...

The tomatoes and peppers seem ok after being covered last night. In the next few days it'll be in the 70s, so will leave them alone for now.

I have a couple of large green tomatoes that I hope will make it to the breaker stage. If I have to pick them before that, I'll look up how to make green tomato relish. I guess I'd pick them and see if there's any color change for a few days. But, if totally green it sounds like that won't be the case.

Somebody forgot to tell my Super Sweet 100's when I pulled the plants that they weren't supposed to keep ripening after I chunked them on a burn pile. I ate ripened tomatoes for 5 or 6 days from those plants- the ones that didn't cook on the vine at 106*... but yeah, tomatoes get a lot of research.

Good article Zoe