when to pull my tomato plant

[california_grown]

i wasn't having much luck with growing my tomatoes in a wine barrell- so, I got a late start on my plants in the raised boxes. They are producing great- but, just starting to change color. Should I waste my time with these....or just take them out and hope for better luck next year?

[gixxerific]

That's hard to say without seeing them.

I leave mine as long as possible. I have been doing this for a bit so I know pretty much when they are (fully) done. Or at least time to pull for the next wave of planting.

What do you mean by changing color?

[california_grown]

Changing color meaning- ripening. But, now that you mention it....the plant is starting to turn yellow on spots also.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

They might just need to be fertilized! A picture would be nice

[LindsayArthurRTR]

They might just need to be fertilized! A picture would be nice

[california_grown]

oh goodness- I'm new here. I have no idea how to post a picture [/img]

[gumbo2176]

I put my tomato plants in the ground around mid/late March and by July, they are basically done. They get real tall and full while producing and then they start to die back from the bottom up. By the time the plant is about 1/2 wilted, I'll simply pull them and find another location for the new ones I put in by late August. I now have about 2 dozen or so in the ground that are about 1 ft. tall that will give me tomatoes into the New Year if we don't get a hard freeze this winter. They do much better here in the cooler months with less insect and disease problems.


What part of CA. do you live in and what are the winters like? Perhaps another round of tomato plants could go in if your winters are mild.

[california_grown]

We have pretty hard winters. Last yesr we had a foot of snow in Decenber
I live near Sacramento. In the Sierra Foothills.

I think just as you mentioned- mine are starting to die from the bottom up. I didnt get them in the ground until July. But our season runsa bout the same. March/May- July/August

I think it might get cold before they have time to ripen.

[gixxerific]

If they are turning, meaning the tomatoes I would leave them for a while. No sense in pulling plants that may give a harvest.

Tomatoes always die from the bottom up, that is how they do. I have some that are a 1/3 gone but I will keep them for a while even though we had a bad year I'm hoping the cooler temps will bring on a second round of fruit.

If they are still kicking I will leave them till frost.

[soil]

if your happy with the amount of tomatoes you have gotten i would consider taking them up. i live in the sierra foothills as well and we are getting ready for fall crops like broccoli, kale, cauliflower, lettuce, beets, etc....

what elevation are you at?

[thyme2garden]

If your tomatoes have started to turn color already, then you can harvest them and let them ripen off the vine. They should ripen fully within 7-10 days. That is, if the vines must come out right now for some reason. If you think they will survive a bit longer, then I would leave them in the ground for as long as you can without sacrificing the existing tomatoes to cold weather, disease, pests, etc.

I also started my Jelly Bean tomatoes late (early July), and they are just starting to set fruit right now. Our first frost is about 4-5 weeks away, so I'm anxiously waiting for these little beauties to turn color.

Hope all your tomatoes are harvestable!

p.s. Attaching pictures is really easy, but you have to host them online somewhere first (like picasaweb, photobucket, your own website, etc.) Then use the Img button with the URL of the picture, like so: [img]URL[/img]

[rainbowgardener]

The instructions for posting photos are here:

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... php?t=3724

in the helpful tips and suggestions to new members section. There's lots of good stuff in that whole introductory section. I recommend browsing around in it a bit!

[garden5]

I leave my plants in as long as I can, but I have to pick all the toms before a frost (in your state, you probably don't have that problem ), or else they won't ripen, but will just rot. You say they are producing well, but they aren't changing color. If they have at least a little color to them, you can pick them and let them ripen inside. If it's a choice between having a plant producing a lot of green tomatoes, or no plant at all...I'd stick with the plant.