My Tomatoes are still green! What should I do?

I had such a delightful encounter today while out for my daily run in the gardens.

I crossed paths with another gardening enthusiast and, after our usual weather chat, I realized we stumbled upon a fascinating tidbit that not many people seem to know. So, let's spread the knowledge!

For those of you who grow tomatoes, especially in Ireland, you might be feeling a tad anxious about the ripening process. Are your tomatoes still green and showing no signs of turning red? Hold on just a moment, my friends, because here's the scoop: once a tomato starts to blush (that means even the tiniest hint of color), it can ripen off the vine.

Ripening tomatoes release a natural gas called ethylene. So, if you gather up those green tomatoes and pop them upside-down, into a dark paper bag, they will gradually ripen. And if you're feeling extra eager to help the process along, you can even throw in an apple. Our experience with this method has been absolutely fantastic, but take note, there are other methods too. Some people prefer wrapping each tomato in newspaper and storing them in the dark, but the underlying idea remains the same.

Some tomatoes might go mouldy so the advice is to peek the bag everyday to make sure everything is going well!

Last Friday, all those tomatoes you see above were completely green. And today? Well, they're well on their way!

And here today's green harvest:

Keep an eye out for my next post, where I'll reveal how many days it took for these beauties to ripen!

With this technique we managed to enjoy fresh tomatoes all the way into December last year!

So, fellow gardeners, let's embrace this wonderful knowledge and make the most of our tomato-growing adventures. Stay tuned for more updates on our juicy tomatoes!

🍅👩‍🌾