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polydactyly
- Full Member
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 10:19 pm
- Location: Austin, Texas
I have Arkansas Travelers that I picked today. They are supposed to be red, but I picked them when they started growing a green band around them. I know it all depends on the breed, but how long does it take for a tomato to ripen on the vine?
I feel like my tomatoes have been the same color for like 2 weeks or more. I was getting anxious and scared they would cook in the sun (It's REALLY HOT here)
If it was too early, what will happen to the green tomatoes?
I feel like my tomatoes have been the same color for like 2 weeks or more. I was getting anxious and scared they would cook in the sun (It's REALLY HOT here)
If it was too early, what will happen to the green tomatoes?
Traveler (a.k.a. Arkansas Traveler) is a pink fruited tomato (clear skin, not yellow skin). I'm not sure what you mean by a green band? A dark green shoulder region develops on many green tomatoes early in their development long before they are anywhere near ripening.
Green tomatoes need ethlene gas (plant hormone) to start the ripening process. Once they are mature green (seeds are mature) they naturally start to do this and the color change process begins and they continue to create their own ethlene gas internally (this is why "vine ripened" means picked with the slightest hint of non green color (breaker stage). "Not gassed" is probably a better descriptor. If you pick green fruit and they have no source of ethelene gas they may or may not be old enough to ripen on their own. The flavor will suffer though as they were not on the plant long enough to store and develop the full amounts of sugars and flavor elements. Up north here, just before first frost we pick all the green fruit and put it in a cool dark place (basement/ garage) in a single layer on newspaper/cardboard, not touching each other. The older ones will ripen eventually, but they are not as good as ones that mature on the plant.
Green tomatoes need ethlene gas (plant hormone) to start the ripening process. Once they are mature green (seeds are mature) they naturally start to do this and the color change process begins and they continue to create their own ethlene gas internally (this is why "vine ripened" means picked with the slightest hint of non green color (breaker stage). "Not gassed" is probably a better descriptor. If you pick green fruit and they have no source of ethelene gas they may or may not be old enough to ripen on their own. The flavor will suffer though as they were not on the plant long enough to store and develop the full amounts of sugars and flavor elements. Up north here, just before first frost we pick all the green fruit and put it in a cool dark place (basement/ garage) in a single layer on newspaper/cardboard, not touching each other. The older ones will ripen eventually, but they are not as good as ones that mature on the plant.