Tips to get green tomatoes to ripen on the vine

Find yourself with more green tomatoes than ripe ones right now. You're not alone. Many gardeners we talk to have the same complaint. "My tomatoes just don't want to ripen this year."  Here are some suggestions for ripening those green tomatoes still left on the vine. The idea is to channel the plant's energy away from flowering and leaf production, towards ripening existing fruit.

First of all, harvest any ripe tomatoes as soon as you can. Next, stop fertilizing. Your plants don't need any more Nitrogen at this point in the season. Another way to speed up ripening on the vine is to prune your tomato plants.

Start by removing any diseased and damaged leaves and branches. You can also remove any young branches at this point.

Next, prune off any small fruit and flowers. Fruit that's just setting today isn't going to make it before the end of the season, so you might as well take them off. Cut off any green tomatoes that are soft to the touch. Leave healthy, fully-formed leaves on the plant. These leaves are needed to provide nutrients to the existing tomatoes. Plant pruning will help redirect energy towards ripening existing fruit.

Root pruning will also encourage ripening. To root prune, simple stick a shovel or trowel six to eight inches deep into the ground, all the way around your tomato plant. This will chop off the ends of the roots and force the plant to stop new growth. With those root ends clipped off the tomato plant goes into fruit production mode. It should be noted that root pruning will dramatically decrease the life of your plant.

One last suggestion, be patient. The average first fall frost date is September 27. Your tomatoes will have time to ripen on the vine. 

If the nights start getting too cool, cover your plants with an insulating material to protect them. These are several things you can do to speed up the ripening process. If it gets too late in the season, you can always pick the green fruit and bring it inside to ripen. 

Time to Plant Cool Season Vegetables

Fall is ideal for planting greens and root crops. The soil is warm and easy to work and there are generally fewer weeds, bugs and diseases to deal with. Warm fall days encourage good growth while the cooler fall nights bring out the flavor of your fall crops. Most cool weather crops don't need a full day of sunlight in order to grow. The spot in your garden that didn't have enough light to grow tomatoes, will do just fine for spinach, lettuce or arugula. Make the most of your fall planting by taking time to prepare the ground where you intend to plant.

Your fall crop will only be as good as the soil it's growing in. Dig in 2" to 3" of organic material such as compost and peat moss, then rake it out.

I tend to pant in rows. It's how my Grandma taught me to garden many years ago and it's still effective today.

Once you have your rows set, add some fertilizer to the bottom of the furrow, plant your seeds, cover lightly and water. In just a few short days, you'll find your seeds have sprouted.

Thin the seedlings out at this point.

You'll get bigger, better yields, if you remove every other seedling. 

Radishes such as French Breakfast and Cherry Belle can be planted now and will be ready to harvest in less than a month.

Fast growing greens include Arugula (30-50 days), Lettuce (around 45 days) Spinach (40-50 days). Planting starts is another way to have fresh greens this fall. 

Look for Broccoli and Kale that's already started. It's easy to take these vegetable starts home and plant them. Don't have room in the garden? Cool weather crops are shallow-rooted so it's easy to plant seeds or starts in a container on the patio. 

As the season lengthens, keep a frost cloth handy for those nights when cooler temperatures threaten your crop. This will help extend your "greens" garden well into late fall. There's nothing like a dinner salad picked from your own garden.  It's fresh and you know exactly what's in it