How to tell when tomatoes are ripe

[grrlgeek]

How to tell when tomatoes are ripe:

1. Observe that the first tomato has shown its first blush of colour.
2. Obsessively monitor said tomato on a daily basis.
3. Go out one day and work in your garden.
4. Notice, with shock and dismay, your prized, first tomato is no longer on the plant!
5. Rush to the plant to find your tomato lying on the ground with a giant hole in its side.
6. Rush inside to fetch your spouse to come and view the violation.
7. Upon returning with spouse, frantically search for the evidence that is now, missing!
8. Come to terms with the loss. (insert 7 stages of grief speech here)
9. While working in the yard THAT SAME DAY, lose THREE MORE tomatoes to the SAME scenario described in 1-8.
10. Your tomatoes are ripe. Pick one, already!

The birds ate 9 strawberries today, too.

[applestar]

How annoying and what a disappointment!

I'm tending to pick at nearly full color but still hard stage -- probably 2-3 days before peak color/soft give. They finish ripening inside in baskets, colanders, towel-lined cooling racks, etc. Would that help? Most varieties except a few exceptions seem to show no loss in flavor -- tomatoes, that is.

We are eating strawberries that are a day before full flavor, much to our disappointment. But as I told the kids, so far every time I left them for another day, they ended up with triangular slash marks or are plain gone.

[imafan26]

When is a tomato, papaya or strawberry ripe? When the birds, snails or slugs eat it. When is it ripe enough for me? Before they get to it.

[grrlgeek]

::chuckling:: I guess I don't mind sharing all that much. We have a lot of plants and there will be plenty to go around (I hope.) I considered today that next year we'll reserve front yard tomatoes to varieties that aren't red-when-ripe. They ignore the green ones, so I will use that to my advantage.

In the back yard, they get the strawberries because they're in baskets near the roof of the greenhouse. I caught a mockingbird perched on the rail staring at the berries. Each trip into the yard I noticed he was taking them throughout the day. He must have been going back and forth every time I left one yard or the other! It's kinda cool actually. I hope they also eat my bugs, but I haven't ever seen any bird fly down inside to ground level.

We installed a bird feeder today with a mockingbird mix in it. Time will tell if he/they make that the preferred forage site.

[McKinney88]

Haha I loved reading this. Too funny.

[feldon30]

How to tell when tomatoes are ripe:

1. Observe that the first tomato has shown its first blush of colour.

Here's my step 2:

2. Pick the tomato and let it ripen on your counter. It will taste just as good.

The birds ate 9 strawberries today, too.

I was losing all my strawberries until I installed bird netting.

It's a shame we have to do these things, but otherwise, you are just putting money, effort, sweat, and a few tears in the ground to feed animals.

[imafan26]

When the birds get to liking a particular tomato, they will even go after it when it is still green.

[mattie g]

When I notice the first color on a tomato, I give it another day or two before it gets picked and is left to ripen in the colander. With a garden as small as mine, I can't leave anything to chance!