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Posted by dyogi on August 10, 2008, 9:16 pm
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> We have about 30 tomato plants. A mix of mostly heritage with some Ultra
> Girl II hybrids. We've been raising tomatoes for 20 years but this year we
> have 2 problems.
>
> 1 - All of the heritage tomatoes are ripening VERY unevenly. To the point
> that one half will be over ripe and the other half still green. The Ultra
> Girl II is not having this problem
>
> 2 - We usually have tomatoes well into September or early October, but right
> now we have very few blossoms coming on? Both heritage and hybrids are doing
> this.
>
> The tomatoes are growing in 2 different gardens and we have 12 plants in
> Earth Boxes. They're all doing the same thing. We have had a very odd Summer
> here in Kentucky with upper 80s during the day and low 60s a lot of nights.
> MUCH cooler nights than normal.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --
> Captain Ed
Irregular watering can lead to uneven ripening. Especially in dry
growing seasons, rare, occasional rain can cause problems. If your
plants rely on irrigation, then drying and watering can contribute to
uneven ripening. Here's the trick I've been using for years:
The day you see pink on a tomato, pick the tomato. Pick every tomato
when it first shows some pink. Let these tomatoes ripen indoors. I
have a very large stainless steel bowl into which I put all my barely
pink tomatoes. I leave it on my dining room table, and I check the
tomatoes daily. Typically, it's three days-to-a-week for the pink
ones to turn fully ripe. Managed this way, my tomatoes ripen
perfectly evenly from bottom-to top, and they never develop cracks or
skin stress marks that are common when a half-ripe tomato gets extra
water. When I first read about doing this (in our local newspaper), I
didn't want to try it--I though vine-ripened would be the best
tomatoes. Once I tried it, I've never gone back. If you want perfect
tomatoes, don't let them ripen on the plants.
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