Hoping for a ripe tomato by Labor Day!

[safeharb]

I'm wondering if there are ways to encourage ripening of my Early Girl tomatoes? In Calgary, we have had a cooler than normal summer, and my one lone plant, though loaded with tomatoes, has seemed to be progressing at a very slow rate - all of them are remaining stubbornly green and smallish. Planted in Mid-May, we are way beyond the normal "harvest date" for the first fruit.

The bush is in a large container, sitting above ground by approx 28" (sitting on a large tree stump to catch the max amount of sun per day), so the soil may be getting too cold at night???

Any suggestions are appreciated: my husband and I had a bet that I couldn't get any tomatoes worth the bother here in Calgary (we moved from Missouri - home of the BEST tomatoes in the mid-West!!), so I would love to prove differently.

Thanks in advance,
Linda

[rainbowgardener]

Well, if the conditions aren't right for them, there's not a whole ton you can do. They definitely don't like cold nights. "There is considerable evidence that night temperature is the critical factor in setting tomato fruit, the optimal range being 59° to 68°F. With night temperatures much below or above this critical range, fruiting is reduced or absent." https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-418/426-418.html So if your night time temps are below 59 degrees, you need to do something to protect/ warm them. Since it's in a pot, you could just set your pot on a heating pad on low....

Also tomatoes like very rich organic soil. The best thing you could do for them (besides warming them) is dig a little bit of compost in around them (without disturbing the roots) and then top dress with some more and water it in. While you are at it, you could bury a banana peel near them. They need more potassium for fruiting and the banana peel is a source.

If the tomato starts turning pink, you can pick it and let it finish ripening indoors, at that point it is considered "vine ripened" and will completely ripen on its own.

[safeharb]

thanks for that info - the cold nights are probably the problem, as it's never up to 59 when I get up in the morning - usually, it's down around 50 - 54.

Does anyone know of any way to naturally heat the soil in the daytime .. or a natural solar blanket that will keep it warmer at night? (Yes, it's in a pot, but a bit far from the house for a heating pad)

Thanks!

[applestar]

Wrap the pot in bubblewrap?
or
Double pot in black plastic nursery tub. Hmm question is what to put in between the two containers.... Maybe bubblewrap is the anwser as the air pockets will store the heat. Whatever you put in it should provide insulation to minimize heat-loss.

Maybe a wind-break on the north side?