They don't need light to ripen. I leave mine in the basement or on a kitchen counter.

Linda

I think, indirect normal light is the best, because you don't want to dry them up. Tomatoes ripen on the vine with ZERO direct sunlight. But on the other hand, T8 fluorescent , if kept at about a foot away, should not do any harm. You can try two, one under T8 and one on the counter and see the difference.

I keep mine on the counter and north window sill. No difference.

My green tomatoes ripe in the basement; where is dark.

2 weeks ago they were ALL green.

If itâÂÂs too humid I use, for 1-2 hours, a dehumidifier.

Very Good Daniel. Where did you keep them ?

When tomato fruit has reached a mature size, from then on ripening becomes, more or less, an internal process within the fruit. So basically it need TIME more than assistance from the mother. But if a tomato is in growth stage , ripening on the counter might not happen as easily. That is what we see in Daniel's photo , above. .

thanks ... I have 3 brown bags with ~50 tomatoes in each and a banana, one tray of about 60 on the counter and one tray of about 50 under a t5 light @ 1.5 ft distance (on a 12 hour timer, keeps it at around 80F). .... Let's see what finishes first. I will post results. I want to push them along to be able to make some more tomato sauce ... need about 100 at a time.

DBA1954, what's the temperature for those "60 on the counter ?"

The ones on the counter are around 68F except maybe when we are cooking then a few degrees higher ...

This post was edited by DBA1954 on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 12:59

So you compare 68' F with 80' F...

That's not errr⦠"fair."

If the 80' F wins, you will say because of the light ?

Few links of interest:

How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors

Ripening and Harvesting Tomatoes

Suggested Tomato Ripening Tips

Ripening Tomatoes Indoors

Will Cold Temperatures Keep Tomatoes from Ripening & How Cold Does It Have to Be?

I just read:

> Humidity for ripening & storage: 85 - 95% RH (90% ideal)

So, IâÂÂm NOT going to use the dehumidifier again.

> High humidy typically causes more rot. I use a dehumidifier in my basement, set on 35 - 40% humidity. [ Ripening Tomatoes Indoors ]

OK, IâÂÂll use the dehumidifier again.

Yep, I hate mixed opinions. They simply confuse people.

It might be confusing BUT:

1) you want high humidity to prevent drying out(moisture removal)

2) you don't want high moisture because certain bacteria thrive in moist and STAGNANT environment, causing mold, rot. To remedy this you store them in single layer( turning the over now and then) and a little air circulation can help.

Well, the ones on the counter ripened first, however they had already started turning red and were the farthest along. The ones in the paper bags with bananas are doing nothing, the ones under the light are ripening fast. Humidity is about 50% in the basement where the lights are.

I have never tried under FL or in the bag. But I would think some some indirect light should be beneficial. To find out, get a few on the counter, a few under FL and a few in the paper bag. BUT they have to be in similar stage, size, etc to be able to come up with a conclusion.
I am doing some habanero peppers test. I have marked 3 on the bush and have picked 3 set on the counter, to see which way they ripen faster.

My own test shows that both peppers and tomatoes (with color break) ripen faster inside than on the bush/vine. The reason is the difference in temperatures: Indoor is around 70F, outside is between 50F to 65F.(avrg. 58F).
So when the fruits (tomatoes here) reach their mature size and display some color, this tells me that they wont get any thing from the plant. Ripening is an internal process from there on. You can tell this by examining the stem. They will become very hard and woody.

So today I am going to pick more peppers and tomatoes to bring inside.

Is the banana peel for humidity, microbes, flavor or what?

Gilbsy,

I know they use apple which supposedly emits ethylene gas. Ethylene, is a plant hormone. It is possible that banana might have that hormone too.

MY understanding that ethylene is also alcohol (intoxicating). What if we put some wine, in a dish, in the box ? I will try this.

In my experience (300+ green tomatoes):

1. Bigger the green tomato is, faster, nicer and tastier will become when ripped. Many medium size tomato will do ok, while small - not cherry - tomatoes might not ripe AT ALL. Most of the cherries will ripe nicely. But they are the first to rot, especially if they have split / cracking at pick up.

2. Best place to ripe tomatoes is in the kitchen. In the basement they ripe slower and they can rot faster - many times overnight. And, if you donâÂÂt check it out DAILY, in 2-3 days some / many will be rotten. With little flies flying everywhere. I do not recommend ripening tomatoes in an unheated garage. In order to have ripped tomatoes for a longer period of time, I leave them in the basement until they have a little color, and then I bring them upstairs in the kitchen. Works like a charm.

3. Leave a space - at least 1 in. - between tomatoes. The first batch, I left no space between the tomatoes - they were touching each other - and some rotten. The second batch, with 1''+ distance between them, NO rotten tomatoes at all.

4. Check the tomatoes DAILY or at least every other day. Obviously remove the rotten tomatoes.

5. Don't let the tomatoes over-ripe (too soft.) They can easily rot. But I LOVE over-ripped tomatoes picked-up from... THE VINE. Yummy...

6. I didnâÂÂt try ripening tomatoes in paper bags or the banana gizmo, so I have no opinion.

JMOs.

Bellow are some tomatoes ripening right now in my kitchen. There are many more - 100+ - green tomatoes in the basement. And a dozen in my unheated garage, just to see what happens. For the moment... nothing happens in the garage. In the basement the medium and especially the smaller tomatoes struggle to get color. No problem to get color for large tomatoes.

This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 11:23

Daniel, what is the variety of your bulgy-shaped tomatoes? I had some of a similar shape and colour (crimson/dark pinky-red) with amazing flavour. The best I have tasted.

I'm sorry tete-a-tete, but I don't know the variety. This year I planted 35 varieties.

It was pretty difficult in that "jungle" to see what varieties were the tomatoes I picked up. Many vines were 15+ ft. long.

Next year I'll have a CLEAR system, to know EXACTLY what variety is EACH tomato in my garden.