There are several factors that can slow or stop tomatoes from ripening, causing the fruit to linger in the green stage. Persistent high temperatures are the most common cause, but plant care also plays an important role. At this stage, it’s important to direct the plant’s energy towards ripening existing fruit, as opposed to producing new fruit.
Pruning. Remove any dead, diseased or damaged stems and leaves. Prune suckers and older leaves and pinch off new flowers.
It also helps to remove any small fruit and any tomatoes that are soft to the touch or showing signs of disease.
Stop fertilizing. With the bulk of the crop already on the vine, it’s time to stop fertilizing.
Cut back on the watering. The plant’s normal response to September’s warm days and cooler nights, is to begin to slow down. Less water helps to concentrate the sugar in the fruit, hastening the ripening process and producing a more flavorful crop. Start by slowly reducing the amount as well as the frequency of watering. The goal is to slow the plant’s grow, without letting it dry out to the point of wilting.
Shift the roots. Root pruning will also encourage ripening. To root prune, simply stick a shovel or trowel six to eight inches deep into the ground, all the way around the edge of your tomato plant. This will chop off the ends of the roots and force the plant to stop new growth and divert its energy into the fruit. It should be noted that root pruning will dramatically decrease the life of your plant.
Protect your plants at night by covering them with an insulating material. Tomatoes need more than sixty degrees of temperature to ripen properly. With nighttime temperatures dropping into the fifties, keeping your plants warm will keep fruit ripening.
Boosting your tomato harvest at this time in the season is a matter of redirecting the plant’s energy away from growth and toward maturing fruit.
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