Sorry if this has been asked before (I'm sure it must've been) but I'm worried that while I'm searching past threads my poor tomatoes will rot lol
OK so I'm growing my first ever tomato plant, in a container (I believe it's an Early Girl, bought at Home Depot- one of those Bonnie plants). A bunch of the tomatoes are now fully red (probably like a dozen or so), but they're not soft and not at the size they should be. The tag that came with the plant says that the fruits should be around 6 oz, but mine are more like 3 oz (some even less). Will I benefit at all from leaving the tomatoes on the vine at this point? Do they continue to grow even after changing color, or are they now at the stage where they are what they are?
From what I've read, you should pick your tomatoes based on color, not size or "hardness" correct?
Agreed. If they're red at all they are thru growing. In fact if you get a good rain after a dry spell, some tomatoes can split if they are left on the vine red. Once they split, gnats and ants will find them and they're compost material....
You can pick a tomato and ripen it inside if it has any red showing. Please don't put it in a sunny window or refrigerator tho.
You can pick a tomato and ripen it inside if it has any red showing. Please don't put it in a sunny window or refrigerator tho.
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ReptileAddiction
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Sorry haven't had a chance to login and thank you all for the replies. I did pick the tomatoes and have eaten several at this point (there are maybe 5 left on my counter). Honestly they're not that great, they're firm and not really juicy. Ah well that gives me a whole year to read up on tomato growing then doesn't it?
It could be the pot is too small or that the plants are under-fed but the main reason is genetics. Early Girl tomatoes are early. That's about all the good things I have to say about them, and I grow them sometimes! To me they're usually watery-tasting too. And the first flush has good size but do whatever you want to, the farther from the root, the smaller the fruit. I like to grow them for earlies, then as soon as something else is producing, pull out the EG and replace it with a sucker from Delicious. That way I'll have a few more green ones to bring in before frost comes.
tbusidan wrote:Sorry haven't had a chance to login and thank you all for the replies. I did pick the tomatoes and have eaten several at this point (there are maybe 5 left on my counter). Honestly they're not that great, they're firm and not really juicy. Ah well that gives me a whole year to read up on tomato growing then doesn't it?
Early girls are known for being early, not tasty. Kinda like the grocery store tomatoes that come 3 to a pack wrapped in celophane.
Try 'Fourth of July' for an early tomato. Much much better.
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rainbowgardener
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I agree that in my experience Early Girls tend to be small and not the most flavorful of homegrown tomatoes. I did find my EG's later in the season to get more flavorful than the earliest ones.
But still I switched from growing Early Girl to growing Ultimate Opener. It is just as early, a bit bigger, and more flavorful.
But still I switched from growing Early Girl to growing Ultimate Opener. It is just as early, a bit bigger, and more flavorful.