View Single Post
Old May 15, 2013   #3
dpurdy
Tomatovillian™
 
dpurdy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Norwich, New York
Posts: 255
Default

Keger,
It's always best to pick vine ripe tomatoes for market. The main reason is that they taste better and customers like vine ripe over tomatoes that picked early and ripened inside. Do a simple comparison when you have some vine ripe tomatoes. Ripen a green tomato inside and compare the taste between the vine ripe tomato and the one that you've ripened inside. I'm sure that you will taste the difference. You can pick a tomato at almost any stage and get them to ripen. Flavor and quality fall off the earlier you harvest your tomatoes. Also compare the interior of the vine ripe tomato to the early green tomato that has been ripened indoors. You will see a distinctive difference in the color of the gel and pericarp tissue (it's red not green or white). The flavor is the most important thing about tomatoes and that's why I try not to pick when they're green. It's always nice when you see customers at the market make a beeline to your stand because of a reputation for great tasting tomatoes. But if you pick your tomatoes while they're still green, a helpful way to get them to ripen is to place them in a box with a couple of apples, and close the lid. In a couple of days you'll see nice ripe tomatoes. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. There would have to be a definitive reason for me to pick my tomatoes early, otherwise I don't harvest unless they are vine ripe. It's no different than harvesting strawberries, apples, or any vegetable. It's always better to enjoy a fruit or vegetable fresh and ripe from the garden.
dpurdy
dpurdy is offline   Reply With Quote