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My tomatoes will not turn red
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Posted by
krounded 5 (
My Page) on
Thu, Jul 14, 11 at 21:28
| I've grown tomatoes in this same spot for 3 years. Usually tomatoes started turning by the middle of July. They get lots of sun. I water once a day. If I don't, I get wilting. The plants are huge. I planted Romas (like last year) Whoppers, Choco Cherries and Season Start.
Last year I had blossom rot so I've been using fertilizer this year - 7-4-5. The green fruit is beautiful, no cracks, but no sign of ripening.
We've had a pretty hot summer with very little actual rain in Chicago. They even survived a hail storm and a "hurricane" with little damage.
What the heck is going on? Peppers are doing pretty well. Cucumbers are so-so. Lettuce as good as can be expected with the heat. (These other veggies are in different areas of the yard) Thanks in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| cut the mater in half with a sharp knife. If the gel keeps the blade from splitting the seed inside your green fruit, then it will eventually ripen. That is all I have. I would suggest doing it twice, once from the top, then second on its side, or as many times as you have too. Maybe, slow, direct closely-watched slices to determine. As many as it takes I guess. From this, you can safely assume that all similiar size green fruit on your plant will ripen or not. Take care,
Travis |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| The nitrogen level of your fertilizer may be a little high. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Patience grasshopper. The cool wet spring in most of the country caused some of the delay for many. Variety also contributes to delay. Or I should say what "appears" to us to be delayed ripening since it is only the middle of July. Bottom line, if there are green fruit on the plant then you know they will ripen. They just don't do it when we want them to. :) Dave |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| I am in Indy just below you and I am wondering the same thing, but I did have to wait a couple weeks later than usual due to rain, cool spring. I have started to notice some orange blushing, so I'm hopeful. You can do a little root pruning to push them along, but I'm assume that might sacrifice future tomatoes from that plant |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| We post this link here often every time this question comes up but you really need to bookmark it. Gives great info on the steps/stages/time involved in tomato production right up to ripening. Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Timeline
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Sometimes tomato enzymes, combined with weather conditions do weird things. I never knew that severe heat could delay ripening until we had an extended period of temperatures above 115. All of my fruit just stopped ripening one day and the day it cooled off, it started ripening again. It was very strange. Even affected the cherries. So, maybe it's something as simple as temperature, nitrogen or, who knows? It will probably ripen when it feels ready to ripen. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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- Posted by remy 6WNY (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 15, 11 at 17:15
I'm confused by your getting ripe fruit consistently by mid July in Chicago. When are you setting them out? This year here, I couldn't get them planted until the first week of June because of the excessive rain. So that makes only about 40 days since planting out here. Even still if I get them in by mid May that only makes about 55 days and that is too short for many varieties to be ripe by.
I've had ripe Sunsugars for a few weeks now, and I've got some other early cherries coming, but the others have only green fruit which I expect after such a slow start to the season.
Remy |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Thanks everyone. I don't feel unusual now. I guess since I got them earlier last year, I figured I would this year too. I put them out around May 21 I think. They were started inside under lights. I've never heard of the cutting experiment. I'll try it, but they are so plump and firm, I think it will come out positive. Digdirt gave me the grasshopper advice again I think (like he/she did for the not enough flowers worry earlier :-). And thanks to other posts for the links. They are very good. I guess I'll delay the fertilizer treatment for next month a little. I used less than the prescribed amount, but maybe that has something to do with it. I forgot to mention they are in pots, so I don't know about root trimming. I suppose they don't respond to pleading and yelling :-) Thanks Much! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| I suppose they don't respond to pleading and yelling :-) Nope. Try classic rock! :) Dave |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| I'm in the Chicago suburbs and I just started getting a few ripe cherries this week, and 1 Early Girl just started to blush yesterday. This is only my 2nd year growing tomatoes, it does seem like it's taking longer this year but it might be my imagination. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Mine stopped turning red. We have been picking tomatoes for over a month, selling since June 15, and with all the heat we have been getting, they just stopped. Last week, 400 pounds, this week 80. The plants are loaded and they have good moisture. Just too hot! Jay |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Jay, what causes that? I noticed that, when we got really hot, too. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| It has been too hot. Perhaps that is what is wrong. I have Choco Cherry in with others. One tomato is blushed and feels soft. I'm not sure when to pick it. Wait till it is all purple or now with a little green on it. One of the pots got that blossom rot. Only one pot. Others with same variety (roma) look ok. I've got big fruit on the Season Start and Whoppers. Still green. It better taste really good for all this wait. They do get some rock music on occasion. Maybe I should leave the radio on for them :-) |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| here's something weird--I had Cherokee Purple fully ripe 7/7. Have been picking lots of ripe Mortgage Lifter, Marglobe, Golden Jubilee, Mr. Stripey, old German... Still waiting for Celebrity and Early Girl. Early Girl!! seriously! Big greenies on that. In short, my heirlooms have done much better (Southeastern Indiana) than the hybrids (with the exception of Romas). |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| I live 20 minutes north of Chicago city limits and my tomatoes are the same as yours-green. I have ONE black cherry tomato about a day from being fully ripe and that's it. Not even a blush! I put them in May 13th but like you said, we've had turbulent weather this year which I believe have set them back a few weeks than normal. I'm getting impatient! Summer isn't really summer 'til I get that first bite of a homegrown heirloom tomato! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Nice to hear from some local folks. That is strange. SE Indiana has some red tomatoes. Chicago is lagging big time. You would not think there would be such a difference. It's not that far apart. Maybe this year it is though.I'm glad to know I'm not alone though. Some of my larger tomatoes fell over again in the last storm and a couple fell off. I've got them in the window. Maybe they will ripen there. But I guess it will be back to farmer's market for salad for a while. I have quite a few new baby cucumbers coming on now though. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Just today I had my first "normal" sized tomato start turning red. YAY! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Agree with late red tomatoes situation. Must be all the sunny hot weather here in upstate NY. I usually have ripe tomatoes big time by now.......only picked 2 so far! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| In southern NH, I just had a couple Early Girls start blushing yesterday. That timeline someone posted said it is ~18 days from full sized to blushing. Definitely feels longer than that, but I don't have a reference. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Yaaaaa.....Red tomatoes this week and purple Choco Cherries. They are turning. I got some Season Start (like Early Girl...seriously? :-) They taste very good. No Whoppers ready yet. Some Romas turned first. The heat broke and they started to turn. It's interesting to hear some people's tomatoes stopped turning. Maybe things will pick up now if the heat does not come back. And joy of joys....The Romanensco cauliflower is starting to bud. I hope they get huge. I can hardly wait to try them. The cucumbers are doing ok and the bell,chili & jalapeno have lots of fruit. Hurray! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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Krounded,
"I've been using fertilizer this year - 7-4-5". I agree with Lgteacher about the nitrogen. Yes plants need nitrogen, every knows that. But when life is good, all you get green (no fruit). I tend toward the lowest nitrogen fertilizer I can find in the vegetable garden, and make up for it by composting to improve the soil. Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency. This year I started putting egg shells/tums in the ground when I plant. Later in the season, I believe I also used a tums dissolved in water spray on the leaves. No blossom end rot this year. There are other "tomato tricks" but it wouldn't be fair to tell you them all at once! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Tomato plants laugh at us with mystery. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| My "Red cherry large" are slow to ripen too. But I DO have TONS of them on 2 plants. 7 feet tall! Got to save some of those seeds! |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Thanks for the advice Clay. I've put egg shells in before. I think it did some good. My husband keeps forgetting to save them for me. I don't know how and don't really have space to compost. Spring, I'm sure the tomatoes are laughing, but the varmints that have been stealing them are laughing even harder. Tommy, I'm glad to hear you have such healthy plants. I'm never quite sure how to properly save the seeds or if I have heirlooms that will allow that. (Sshh - don't tell Monsanto :-) The tomatoes are turning regularly now. Salads with my own tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, long white radishes and hot chilies are delicious. I hope the season lasts long enough to get plenty. I'm thinking about what to do this fall. I need to fertilize for breakdown over winter. I'm just not sure what kind to use. My flower bed usually gets used for lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, one tomato plant and this year, romanesco. The bulk of tomatoes and peppers go into pots. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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Instructions for saving seed (various methods):
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/A_Beginner%E2%80%99s_Guide_To_Savin
g_Tomato_Seeds_Using_Fermentation
http://wintersown.org/wseo1/YourChoiceTomatoSASE/Learn to Save T
omato Seeds 300.pdf
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084456024410.html If you're not sure which varieties are open pollinated (grow true from seed) or hybrid (don't grow exactly true from seed), you can check these databases:
Tatiana's TOMATObase has thousands of varieties, purely OP:
http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Category:Tomato_Variety_List
Cornell's site is smaller, mostly common varieties (what's sold at big box stores and many nurseries, commonly available seeds, etc.) and many hybrids:
http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/mainSearch/showVarieties.php?crop_id
=56&sortBy=overallrating&order=DESC The egg shells won't really help your blossom end rot, but composting is always good. BER is a condition that affects young plants in the spring. In most cases, by the time it's noticed and "treated," the plants have already grown out of the tendency. So it seems like the eggshells, or special spray, or whatever, took care of the problem -- but in reality it was just coincidence. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| If you're left with green tomatoes on the vine at the end of the season, pick the green ones and wrap in newspaper, place them in the dark. Check every couple days, many will turn red. As long as they don't rot, you can freeze them or use in sauce. Just a tip. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Ok here we are a year later and we have just expereienced extreme and record breaking drought. I still have some green tomoates and cherry tomatoes. So I have taken some of the advice here and pruned up the vines a good bit hoping the energy will go to the tomatoes and not excessive tomatoes. My tomatoes were 6' tall now we shall see what happens. Considering it is in sept Im panicing a little. |
RE: My tomatoes will not turn red
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| Am also in Chicago....I have a ton of green tomatoes. Last weekend, I pruned the heck out of my tomato plants and literally the next day, 1/3 of the tomatoes were starting to turn. I have not really gotten a good crop this year, so I am hoping I can eek out a few more. Gonna prune more often next year! |
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