Hel please. Temps falling below 50 two to three nights a week

Guarimn · October 10, 2022

I've got lots of large tomato's on plants. all blossoms removed. all smallish fruit removed. all suckers removed.

It's hard to tell but many seem to be beginning to blush ever so slightly. These are mainly heirlooms and I'm kind of hoping that the cold hasn't affected their flavor too much. Temps starting to dip below fifty some nights.

Is it better to ripen the fruit indoors or leave them on the plants for another couple weeks as the nighttime temperatures start to approach 40 degrees Fahrenheit

Any feedback would be appreciated. thanks

KarenO · October 10, 2022

I hope these are just the last of your end of season tomatoes?
If it’s warm in the daytime and the plants are still healthy you can leave them on to blushing. If the plants are diseased and especially if it’s raining they will probably be better off finishing indoors.
KarenO

Guarimn · October 10, 2022

I planted the majority of my plants late....
little disappointed that I am not getting the quality of fruit with all the effort I put in....

no regrets.
It was fun and educational

Since daytime temps are still going up into the 60's and plants pretty healthy, I will leave them

b54red · October 15, 2022

I have noticed that tomato flavor and ripening evenly is affected by cooler nights that get down around 40 and below. The tomatoes have a more shallow sour taste and they have more and more green streaks in them mixed with the reds.

This was one of the most frustrating and disappointing summers as far as my tomato growing was concerned. I was hit repeatedly by waves of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus necessitating me having to replace most of my plants. I finally got a decent number of grafted plants to live but it was mostly ones set out in the mid July heat. They struggled mightily to survive and set limited fruit during the high heat of August and early September and produced much smaller than normal fruit. Finally in late September and early October in drought conditions they began to thrive and set a lot of fruit. Now I have plants with lots of green tomatoes and little likelihood that the bulk of them will have time to ripen with 30's forecast this next week. If freezing weather is delayed this year I will get a fair harvest of late tomatoes but I fear most will be plagued by uneven ripening. I am picking any blushing fruit and allowing them to ripen indoors now.

Bill

October 10, 2022	#1
Guarimn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 23	Hel please. Temps falling below 50 two to three nights a week I've got lots of large tomato's on plants. all blossoms removed. all smallish fruit removed. all suckers removed. It's hard to tell but many seem to be beginning to blush ever so slightly. These are mainly heirlooms and I'm kind of hoping that the cold hasn't affected their flavor too much. Temps starting to dip below fifty some nights. Is it better to ripen the fruit indoors or leave them on the plants for another couple weeks as the nighttime temperatures start to approach 40 degrees Fahrenheit Any feedback would be appreciated. thanks

October 10, 2022	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	I hope these are just the last of your end of season tomatoes? If it’s warm in the daytime and the plants are still healthy you can leave them on to blushing. If the plants are diseased and especially if it’s raining they will probably be better off finishing indoors. KarenO

October 15, 2022	#4
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have noticed that tomato flavor and ripening evenly is affected by cooler nights that get down around 40 and below. The tomatoes have a more shallow sour taste and they have more and more green streaks in them mixed with the reds. This was one of the most frustrating and disappointing summers as far as my tomato growing was concerned. I was hit repeatedly by waves of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus necessitating me having to replace most of my plants. I finally got a decent number of grafted plants to live but it was mostly ones set out in the mid July heat. They struggled mightily to survive and set limited fruit during the high heat of August and early September and produced much smaller than normal fruit. Finally in late September and early October in drought conditions they began to thrive and set a lot of fruit. Now I have plants with lots of green tomatoes and little likelihood that the bulk of them will have time to ripen with 30's forecast this next week. If freezing weather is delayed this year I will get a fair harvest of late tomatoes but I fear most will be plagued by uneven ripening. I am picking any blushing fruit and allowing them to ripen indoors now. Bill