You're Picking Tomatoes WRONG: NEVER Vine Ripen A Tomato Again!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this video, I share how to pick a tomato off the vine for the best taste and biggest harvest! But, it may not be what you think! Vine ripened tomatoes are a myth - a scam! Don't be fooled. If you are picking vine ripened tomatoes, you're picking tomatoes wrong! Never vine ripen a tomato again, because it puts your tomato harvest at risk!
Knowing when to pick a tomato is critical for maximizing harvests. Pick a tomato too early and it will not fully develop its flavor. Pick a tomato too late and the tomato may be destroyed by insects, birds or bad weather before you get to harvest your precious fruit. This video explains the best way to pick tomatoes and sets the record straight.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 The Vine Ripened Tomato Lie
1:23 Stages Of Tomato Ripening
2:34 Why Grocery Store Tomatoes Taste Bad
3:45 The Problem With Vine Ripening Tomatoes
4:38 Tomato Breaker Stage
6:16 The Best Time To Pick A Tomato
9:30 How To Ripen Tomatoes Indoors
12:58 The Psychology Of Vine Ripened Tomatoes
16:12 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to grow tomatoes, want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and "how to" garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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#gardening #garden #gardeningtips #tomatoes #tomato
If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 🍅TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 The Vine Ripened Tomato Lie
1:23 Stages Of Tomato Ripening
2:34 Why Grocery Store Tomatoes Taste Bad
3:45 The Problem With Vine Ripening Tomatoes
4:38 Tomato Breaker Stage
6:16 The Best Time To Pick A Tomato
9:30 How To Ripen Tomatoes Indoors
12:58 The Psychology Of Vine Ripened Tomatoes
16:12 Adventures With Dale
I stopped waiting until they are totally ready to eat because they tend to crack so bad, and then they don't keep as well.
My question is, if they are sealed off from the plant, how come they crack? I thought that was from them continuing to take in water?
I agree; picking them a little earlier doesn't hurt the flavor one bit!
Thank you very much for the very thorough and in depth Explanation of the various stages of ripening. I made a video the other day and I had mentioned my brief reason why I am cut a tomato before it was ripe. It was nowhere near as colorful and informative as yours lol. I just kept it simple and said in my video that you don’t have to keep the tomato on there because it’s already absorbed all the nutrient it needs. I did not in no way go as in depth as you and I do appreciate your time and effort to put this video together. It helps many people understand this process in the very educational way. I do my best to teach in my own way, I’m just getting started with this new garden and this channel. My channel is not for everyone. I do things a little differently and hope my channel inspires other people to think outside the box and I hope that the people that watch your channel understand these things much better with knowledge based information that you share through your content your videos. It’s absolutely amazing. Thank you for all your hard work!
My garden channel
youtube.com/@squirrelsgarden58?si=SiYkME-0g0srpGnk
@@cynthiacollins2668Not sure about your area, but here in the Southwest, because of the environment being so hot and dry, with hot dry winds, low humidity and high temperatures, it is necessary to pick early. Otherwise the skin dries too fast and cracks and splits when the internal moisture expands from the heat.
What about peppers? Pick early as well?
70 year old gardener here and I have been growing tomatoes for many of those years, and this is one of the most informative videos on tomatoes I've ever watched. Thanks for adding to the gardening knowledge of this old dog!
This was one of your best videos for tomatoes. This isn’t discussed as frequently by most influencers and a major tip
I agree. I honestly think it's one of those "little known facts." Or, at least, it's a fact that has been lost because of the internet. Looking back, my grandfather *always* picked his tomatoes early and let them finish ripening on the porch, but the internet has popularized photos of blood red tomatoes hanging on vines, so I think the knowledge of past generations has been forgotten. Whatever it is, I hope this video helps people.
Too many bugs or birds getting them if you leave them. Also I give a lot of extra away, so it allows a few days time to use them up.
Yep. Excellent video. Thank you.
@@teamshoemaker I haven't had too much of any issue with bugs and critters eating them vine ripened. Sometimes the occasional chipmunk nipple but mainly just on the cherry tomatoes and there's far more than they can keep up with, not to mention they're often drawn away by the nearby raspberries.
I agree! Great info💚
Considering that the half-ripe fruits I’m harvesting now are coming off the vine with little to no resistance, it makes sense that the plant has finished nourishing the fruit.
As a grocer who sells thousands of pounds of tomato of different types year round. This is all correct information. Sadly people will fight any type of information that conflicts with their own.
Grocery tomatoes...🤮 They are picked way too early to give them a longer shelf life.
Cognitive dissonance.
@@dross10001, thus was born the name hothouse, that is, tasteless, tomatoes.
@@dross10001I don't think it's the harvesting time that affects the taste. I've harvested tomatoes to early and they just don't ripen, if they ripen at all the timing may be fine. The taste is probably more of a result of what they are fed.
So guilty of " just one more day" to go out and be frustrated that a critter got it first........Thanks so much for this info.
God Bless
I am 70 years old & have grown tomatoes for 50 of them...& you're right ! Old wives tales die hard. But your info about stages of ripeness, storage, etc. are spot-on.🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅
I love how this channel content isn't driven by sponsors! The information provided is far more trustworthy as a result. Thank you!
You're welcome! I don't think sponsorships are necessarily bad, but I just do this because I really love it. My garden is my sanctuary.
then find a way to support him through his amazon list or shop
Same here! I've been so turned off by the evolution of my favorite gardening channels that are mainly pushing products, now.
@@TheMillennialGardener
I agree 100%!!
"My garden is my sanctuary"
It keeps me sane in this insane world!!
Thank you for all you do
I'm a brand new gardener, and I've learned so much from you and try to watch all your videos!!
You rock!!
Yep, old lady gardener here and I can attest that picking tomatoes at the breaker stage is the way too go. Took me years to believe it but it is true. I did a taste test between letting them stay on the vine and ripening them inside - no difference. Honestly, it reduces so much stress letting them ripen inside!
Do not like to say that I am wrong on anything. I was one of those who harvested RED tomatoes only. I am going to be a good listener for a change. Thank you. (Enid Phillips)
Give it a shot. Just don't pick it *too early* because that could genuinely impact the flavor. Let it get close to halfway and you should be good to go.
I made the same mistake with pears…
The not letting tomatoes get cold is the best tip. I have known this for years. I hate the fact that every restaurant refrigerates their tomatoes and always taste horrible. Many grocery stores do the same.
I just had this discussion with my husband a couple nights ago. He told me that I was picking the tomatoes too soon that I should wait for them to turn red. And I told him if I wait for them to turn red the critters will probably get them first. I was so glad to see this video confirming what I was thinking😊
I started listening to this video thinking "no way I'm going to agree with this nonsense". I ended it thinking "huh...I'm going to have to do some blind taste tests this summer!". I specifically started gardening so I could have "vine ripened tomatoes"...this challenges what "vine ripened" really means. Very interesting! Very logical breakdown of the facts.
Many people in the sticks where I use to live would buy a case of green tomatoes from a local tomato farmer in the fall, they would wrap them individually in News paper in a box and close the box and put it under the bed or in a closet. When they wanted ripe tomatoes they would unwrap some and set them out on the counter, in just a few days they had ripe tomatoes.
Funny thing is if they took a sheet of newspaper and covered the whole box, the ethylene would build up and ripen them all quickly. It's pretty fascinating.
I do that to all the ones unripened before frost sometimes I do not wrap them just lay them flat and don't let them touch
@@lindamorgan2678I left some unripe yellow pear-shaped tomatoes just lying around in different rooms of the house last autumn and months later, really months, the ripened tomatoes remained unspoiled. Some didn't start shrivelling or drying up until 5-6 months later.
@@TheMillennialGardener but they didn't want them all to ripen at once, they wanted to have ripe tomatoes through the winter
I do this every fall before frost. I eat red-ripe tomatoes well into the winter.
I have been growing tomatoes for a few years. Last year i grew 185 lbs of tomatoes in my backyard garden. I can say for a fact that everything mentioned in this video is true and it works. It took me a long time to realize that picking my fruit early gave me the best results. Now that stink bugs are a major issue for my tomatoes and peppers, it is especially important to pick them before they are attacked. In mid to late summer, I often have up to 10 trays of tomatoes ripening in my dining room, at any given time.
Can i do the same with peppers?
I had some crop loss due to bugs eating the peppers last year
❤ 17 straight minutes of content JAM PACKED with GREAT INFORMATION!!!
I learned a lot!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I tried to storyboard it as efficiently as possible 😀
I grow my own. Home grown and vine ripened are indescribably delicious. You can't even compare it to anything you'll find in a grocery store no matter how much you pay. That said, a tomato that has started to turn and is then picked and allowed to ripen in the sun vs one allowed to completely ripen on the vine, are not a lot different. But also, from the time it starts to change color until it's vine ripe is only a week or two anyway.
My husband has been telling me this for years! I’m like, “you pick them when they’re orange!” 😂
Thank you! I now have to admit he was right!
Red. Even if it werent true id need to cuz pests dont wait...
He was right, but you don't have to admit it 😆
I have to tell someone else to tell my wife because she never believes me.
As a husband that doesnt get many wins, Im taking this as a personal win. Thank you for your sacrifice!
Orange? Oh hell NO. Regardless of what anyone says, letting your maters turn red is not a problem. Said another way, I don't think the folks growing a hundred acres of tomatoes are fully ignorant of how to grow and when to pick them.
Yes, waiting until they are super soft is iffy, at times, other times, just bring a salt shaker out to the patch with you and. . . .
I figured this out several years ago when I started gardening. I was mainly picking early because critters (mainly rodents) were raiding my garden. MANY people criticized me for doing it, but this was the only way I was going to get a harvest.
However I didn't know about not ripening them in sunlight. I don't generally do that, but I never realized that it could cause a problem.
I've been growing vegetables and tomatoes for close to two decades before you were born, I learn something new every year. Homegrown tomatoes are the number one treat from the garden for me. For tomato advice, I'm looking no further than your channel. I'm so glad you're here for us!
I learned this a couple of years ago from one of my FB gardening group.. I was getting so discouraged from.losing almost fully ripened tomatoes to pests. I posted a picture and was advised to harvest the tomatoes earlier, almost as soon as it starts blushing. I've saved a lot of tomatoes by doing that, and the flavor is always great!
This is so crazy that you put this video up yesterday!!
Last evening I was out in my garden, picking my tomatoes at about 30% ripeness and I said to myself “I believe that vine ripe tomatoes is a myth. There’s no way people let their tomatoes ripen all the way on the vine!” 😅 👌🏼
What’s growing on!! Dang you are already harvesting.. I just planted my homegrown tomatoes in-ground on Saturday. Northern California.
I just returned from being gone 2 days and found two beautiful tomatoes partially ruined by either splitting or a bird pecking. I was waiting "one more day" to pick 4 tomatoes when I watched this video. It's dark, but I just went out and picked them. Thanks for this video.!!
Hey, I could have told you that 40 years ago. Down here in Florida, when the tomatoes and peppers are forming, the birds and varmits are going into their cupboards getting out their knives, forks and bibs. I don't mind sharing, but it reaches a point! 20% tomato crop loss even picking them early. The last week the varmits have attacked the peppers (even Hot) with Hannibal Lecture efficiency. It's war!
Florida 9b Found out the hard way . Squirrels beat me to it 🤬
Raccoons love my tomatoes 😠😡
Terriers and house cats. Also, a good perch for hawks and owls.
NY slugs and rolly polly,s
Depending on where you're at, if you're growing tomatoes during the rainy season, even worse than the pests is the splitting. For every tomato I lose to pests, I lose 2-3 from the rain if I let them vine ripen. It's best to pick them half ripe and let the countertop finish them.
This is my 3rd year growing tomatoes. This was extremely informative and I'll never let my tomatoes just hang. My issue is splitting and now I know. Thanks for always giving direct info and brining in the technicals and real word into a great video.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Let them go to half-ripe and that should be far enough. No need to risk them beyond that point.
@@TheMillennialGardener I lost a lot of cherry tomato's last year to splitting. I'll pick sooner and let ripen. I also am heeding your container growing guidance since I added hoops to my raised beds and am growing them in 5 gal buckets this year. First time successfully growing from seed as well. Lots going on in my little back yard this year. Grapes, Strawberries, many other things. Really enjoy the content, keep it up. Now to deal with these slugs.
Well how exactly could your tomatoes be splitting if the plant separates itself from the tomato??
@@MikeR65That is a good question, but I notice that my cherry tomatoes do split sometimes when I am washing them in the sink. Must be too ripe at that point? IDK
Thanks! Well researched and thorough. I've grown tomatoes for over 10 yrs. and was interested to see if there was something I didn't know. I was hoping to hear " the sooner you pick...the more you get", like beans, peas, cukes, etc. The explanation of how the partially ripe fruit gets cut off was new info to me and explains things. Thank you! I just subscribed.
Wow, learned something new! I knew to pick my tomatoes as they colored up but I have always put them in my kitchen WINDOW. Gotta go move a bunch of tomatoes. . .
Me too!
I think you should move half and study the results. My mother always ripened hers in an east facing window..
That's where I keep the ones I want to stay green... for fried green tomatoes. They develope the flavor I like after 2 days on the window sil. The rest go in a big paper grocery bag.
Try both. Your window blocks most UV rays, surprisingly. Keep some in your window, put some on your counter in the shade. See which way you like better. You may prefer one way over the other.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm digging this idea. My tomatoes in the East facing window take 1-3 weeks to ripen, but I pick those when they are still green (depending on the condition of the plant)
I'm going to conduct an experiment like this with one of my plants and compare.
Great video thank you. I am definitely one of those “gotta let it ripen fully on the vine” kind of people. I am glad to know that I no longer have to do this. Look forward to trying it out this year.
I grew up in Hanover County, Virginia, the "Tomato Capital of the World". As a boy I would work during the summers in the tomato fields. Because we went from farm to market, we would pick a tomato as soon as it started turning pink on the bottom. All tomatoes would then go to the sorting tables at the farmhouse. Those with the most color would go to the markets. Those with less would ripen another day or two and then go.
In short, you are absolutely correct that a "vine-ripened tomato" is one that has begun to turn, not one that is beet red.
Been trying to tell people this for years. I'm in east central Fl. Totaly organic. Pick at about 30 to 50 % max. Give them time. Some neighbors tried to argue with me about that. Now they buy from me. 🤷♂️. Hard down here in the heat and humidy in the summers. Birds like to drink my fruits. Ripend fruits on the vine don't last long. In the house or on the vine. Just for the point of view, I've been doing this a long time. Your channel is by far above the others. Really appreciate your efforts that put into this.
I saw the thumbnail and said to myself "yeah, whatever bro". After scrolling down another page or two I decided to go back and watch it. I am glad I did! Thank you for the great information.
My grandmother from Siberia was getting 30%-50% ripe tomatoes and ripen them on sunny windowsill. 😊
It’s also helps tomato with releasing some weight from the vine.
I love how very informative your videos. The best detailed content out there.
I picked a double wheeled wheelbarrow full of green tomatoes the night before a frost. I put it in the garage. They slowly ripened and I sold all of them at my roadside stand until almost December
Totally agree with you. Especially here in TN. The rain will crack them all the time if i dont pick early. I like to pick right after they start to blush. Helps with insects attacking as well. Thanks for the science behind the tip.
I started a container garden a few years ago. I’m growing tomatoes this year from your recommendations. I’m also growing dwarf tomatoes from the dwarf tomato project. I’ve learned so much from your channel! Thanks so much for all your efforts to produce informative content!
I'm curious to hear how things turn out. Please let me know later in the year. I'm curious how you will like the Dwarf Tomato Project plants. They're very interesting and unlike any other tomatoes. They're built like little trees and the flowers look like dandelions.
@@TheMillennialGardener I also started an early tomato project back in January. I seed started 2 Rosella Purple & 1 Siletz Jan 6 with a goal of tomatoes by June. I have tennis size tomatoes on the Siletz.
I really appreciate how you make the video more easily watchable by adding Celsius. Thank you!
Another person, who has been growing tomatoes for 60 Plus years. Growing tomatoes here in Portugal. I found that location has more to do with flavour, than many other factors. everybody (even here) says that my tomatoes , my cooked, bottled and frozen tomato products are amazing! I don’t bother to wait until all the tomatoes are ripe before processing, as they all taste fantastic. I pick everything in the described zone, and we’re ready to go, In England, I found that outdoor grown, is tastier than indoor. I don’t think all. Commercial tomatoes are picked green these days. They have developed tomatoes that can be picked red, but they don’t bruise (or have any flavour)
Great to hear the facts of tomato ripening stages. I noticed this in the autumn when frost was expected we would pick half ripened tomatoes and when they full ripened they tasted great
I love it when you upload. Every time I learn something new!!! This information is so so crucial. I had no idea I could cut my tomatoes off sooner! Last year, I came outside and beetles had taken out some of my ripe tomato while on the vine.
I used to make that mistake, too. Pick them when they're halfway and you'll lose so many less tomatoes!
I'm a Michigan grower, fighting deer, chipmunks, and this year ground hogs I think!. I have been forced to pick my tomatoes at "BLUSH" for the last 2-3 seasons when the tomatoes show true color - I REMOVE THEM, then have a chance to eat my tomatoes before the critters do. This gives me a harvest, I store the Blushed tomatoes in daisy trays lined with newspaper ( I still get a free local paper that works good to line the trays) in my family room out of direct sunlight, watch the progress and look for spoilage (from cuts in the skin). They ripen FANTASTIC and taste great. I grab every larger variety tomatoes at first Blush. This technique DOES NOT work on my cherry tomatoes. My experience under ripe cherry tomatoes rot inside before they will ripen.
Just saw your picture of you, your lovely, and Dale on your wedding day! Congratulations!! And God bless you! I am So Very happy for you both. I mean for all three of you!
The terpenes and complex flavonoids become more developed the longer the tomato ripens on the vine. The perfect tasting tomato is more at risk of getting damaged but that a gamble I’m willing to take vs getting a pretty LOOKING tomato. If you’re trying to sell produce for profit, yes, pick early and ripen it using controlled environment. But the longer that tomato ripens on the vine- the more complex the homegrown flavor
Thank you so much!! This information is particularly valuable right at this moment. Last year, for the first time, our community garden, with a view of the ocean in Southern California, got overrun with rats! It was such. a demoralizing situation. Overnight, on the 3rd of July, they came in and ate 30 perfectly ripe ears of corn that I was saving to pick for a party on the 4th of July. Out of 72 corn stalks, I ended up with 5 good ears. The same with tomatoes. Every time a tomato got ripe, overnight it got a giant chomp out of it. Thank God they weren't interested in cherry tomatoes; so, I got masses of them. And, so thankful, too, that we can garden here all year round; so, there was plenty of joy left over for the rest of the year. The rats didn't seem interested in broccoli and Brussel sprouts. But, you have given hope for this new tomato season!!! I"ll just pick the tomatoes before the rats are even interested in them!! Thank you so very dearly!!!
"Bad things" equal squirrels
They attack right before tomatoes ripen
Hi Millennial Gardener, thank you so much for the informative video on ripening tomatoes. You made some good points. Now I understood the stage of the ripening process. Last year, my tomatoes were on the vine a bit too long and they were somewhat mushy. This year, I will not let my tomatoes go too far so to compare the difference. I will let you know how my fruits turn out following your suggestions. YES, never put tomatoes in the refrigerator. The fruits are tasteless, soft and mushy at times. Ripe tomatoes will be left in my fridge ONLY if I can't use them right away. Once in the fridge, I will use them later to make soups or sauces. Great video!
I have to laugh but you made a good point for newbies to gardening. There are so many folks that don't know that you just preached facts. Chicken eggs are the same way when purchased from a grocery store! You nailed this video!!!!!
I always go out before a rain and pick cny tomatoes that are just starting to blush. If you don't they get cracks. I keep some of my tomatoes in my basement at the end of the season so i can have fresh tomatoes longer.
I grow a few late tomato plants. By the first freeze, they are all still green. I bring them in and let them ripen, extending my enjoyment of ripe tomatoes for six more weeks.
No resistance here. Absolutely follow your advice.
Couldn't agree more. I had a giant beautiful tomato last year. I thought, one more day on the vine ought to do it. Boy was I wrong. Went to pick it the next day, and it had a giant bird hole in it. Talk about furious!!! Not this year!
Been doing this for several years. Always get the best tasting tomatoes every time.
Where I live, I could wait forever for my tomatoes to finally ripen all the way on the vine! So I go ahead and pick and bring in when I see pink color, and within a couple days, I have a nice ripe tomato. In the fall, I pick them all hopefully before our first frost, and so I have a costco table or so full of green and ripening tomatoes; and sure enough, in time, they all ripen, as long as they have not been touched by even a light frost.
I think all of your videos are just great!! I’ve been learning so much!
Woah that makes so much sense why store bought tomatoes just don’t taste the same! Ran and went to tell my bf the info!
Wow! Never heard of this, but have been doing it on accident for a couple of years now. I put a light sheet over the top of them to keep flies off and put a fan close to them to keep a circulation flowing around them. This year we are growing 40 Roma tomato plants and can’t get them all inside when they start coming off. The heat and humidity in the south doesn’t allow us to use the the lower temperatures you’re referring to. I’m a firm believer in your message, we started pulling them early because of rabbits, bugs and weather. I guess I’ve been doing this all along and not knowing I was doing the right thing!😂 A very good video and thanks for enlightening myself and others!
It’s interesting you bring this up; the last time I grew tomatoes I had a hugely busy year. This is exactly how I handled my tomato crop because I couldn’t keep up if I waited and only used the tomatoes that were perfectly ripen on the vine, so doing thattwice every day.
I started picking my tomatoes before they're fully ripe a few years ago.
between disease issues, pests, and frost it's just easier and I end up with more tomatoes that look nicer.
I'm so glad I saw this! I have to pick my tomatoes when they are blushing before the bird's get them. Thanks for a great video. I've learned so much from this channel.
Thursday May 16th was a very good day my niece came home from Veterinary University, I had to pick her up at JFK airport. Four hours one way down and another four back. So didn’t get much done in the garden but it was a good day! Also saw my first purple asparagus shoots.
Congratulations 👏 👏 😊
@@TexasNana2 thank you!
@@JohnWood-tk1ge You're very welcome 🙂
This is how all the older generations picked tomatoes. My mother became her father had a big garden and they had to keep food in cellar and it had to last. They knew all this. I watched this video and called my mom and I said that’s why you have such great tomato crops. She learned from her dad. I never paid atteattention to my mom is 83. So old school wins the day but definitely new and good info for younger generations 👍
Great timing. I've got 10 plants that I'm hoping to start blushing in the next 30 days or so.
I've been growing Tomatoes for years and today I learned something, thank you for this video.
I agree with the science of this video but I think a fully ripe tomato taste better right off of the plant IF you eat it right away. The summer temps that keep a tomato in the 80-95 degree range are just phenomenal. When they get to room temp they suffer in flavor....
Incredible info.! I love how you brought science into this presentation and made it very fact based. I've grown tomatoes quite a bit and never knew that they are cut off from the host plant at the 30-50% ripening stage. I'm going to heed your advice and pick my tomatoes before they are completely red because every tomato that I've tried to vine ripen as of late has gotten damaged by the birds and insects.
I'm going to follow your advice this year. I'm in North Florida and every time I've grown tomatoes I've been disappointed trying to ripen on the vine. They end up attacked by squash bugs, splitting, or rotting and I never have enough for canning. Thank you!
In my opinion, this is your best video yet! Invaluable information, thank you!!
This is the best gardening tip I've seen on your channel so far. Thanks for all your hard work
One of the best videos on tomatoes I have ever seen
WOW. You described my tomatoes (split, bug bites etc) for the last 2 years. I just didn't know to pick them earlier. Thank you!
Good to now officially know this point. I can now pick them before some creature picks it, takes a bite, then leaves it on the ground for me! So annoying! Especially in the beginning! Also great to know for picking to give out to friends and late season picking in areas when you’re watching for cold weather.
South Florida we pick tomatoes from early January to mid April. Absolutely agree with what you are saying. We pick "pinks" for the best taste. You can actually pick them green if the fruit starts showing white lines on the bottom.
Thank you Anthony for saving me time in the garden netting the beautiful Mushroom Basket tomatoes to protect from proboscus type bugs . The information you share is priceless. Blessings to you and your "official" wife.
Bingo. I recently started picking mine as soon as they show a "reasonable" amount of color. If I leave them longer, the birds get them, the bugs get them, etc. I had to leave town for 12 days last summer. I picked all the toms with color AND the big fat greens. I left all of them in my kitchen sink. I came how to a mega-bounty of perfect RED toms. It's late May and I have a half a dozen NICE fat greens on my plants today. I can't wait to eat my first Caprese salad! When I used to leave them on the vine to ripen, I had to throw a third of them away after the birds ate them. Even WITH netting. Birds, bugs, etc. They all love toms.
Here in the Deep South we were taught this exact same thing because of all the things you mentioned. Great info for a back yard gardener!!
We need a garden tour!!! It’s looking great!
Thank JESUS planting season is here 🎉🎉🎉
I love the thought that if I were to visit your home later in the year, I would find tomatoes spread out all over your house.
This is a game changer! All this makes sense We have been trained wrong! So excited to see those 30% ripened toms!!!
to add that counter top ripened tomatoes taste better: i've found that any tomato that I left on the vine too long can have hardened skin from sun exposure and the tissue inside the fruit ends up being overripe. then when they're brought inside the fruit can simply split open and you're forced to use it right away or discard them all together.
ur so smart bro. but you haven't mentioned the U-gene. Grocery store tomatoes all ripen at the same time, but look at Solanum Pimpinellifolium! All the fruits on the bracts of pimps ripen from back to front; each tiny tomato would need to be painstakingly snipped from the bract at the breaker point. For cherry/currant tomatoes without the U-gene you need to find a Goldilocks Zone where the majority of fruit on the bract is just showing signs of coloration and then harvest the whole bract at once.
It's also worth mentioning that damaged fruit can be worth it if your into saving the seeds of a plant. You want to make sure you have as many fully mature seeds as possible, and some splitting and leaf-footed bug black dots will be worth the higher germination rate.
Very good video, bro. You're are always the best!
Zone 5a Michigan here.
I'm in my second year of growing tomatoes (Terenzo Cherry), and it's worked really well for me to prioritize the plant health over the tomato ripeness. (FYI, my main plants are both in hanging baskets)
When it gets loaded with fruit, the plant itself looks weighed down and stressed, and I also become concerned that the planters may break from the weight. To fix that, every 2-3 days, I remove the most ripe tomatoes, along with any damaged leaves. The removed tomatoes are usually a whiteish color that has not turned red yet or a shade of greenish - orange. Last year, I got 3 large harvests from my plant, along with around 20 new plants from suckers.
I keep the tomatoes in the window and allow them to ripen. They are the most delicious tomatoes I've ever had, although that could be contributed to the variety, as I have not tried many types.
I was able to overwinter my 2 largest indoors (they didn't produce any fruit, but they kept most of their leaves). This is supposed to be an annual, but it's behaving like perennial. My largest plant has produced its first harvest for this year. I'm so curious to see how things progress, and whether or not it will die off after this massive harvest.
Thank you so much for the information in your video. I may adjust the process to match yours on one of my 2 large plants to see what the differing results are.
Your expertise is important to us novice gardener. I've heard from other experts, the same ideas as you have talked about.
Your video just saved about half my tomato harvest. Thanks for the info.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
This is a huge help to me! So many times I lose tomatoes on that last day of ripening. I appreciate that you explained why. Makes sense! Thank you so very much!! Great info!
When my grandpa grew tomatoes, he always picked them before they were ripe and let them continue ripening in the kitchen.
Awesome video. You are so helpful. I appreciate your hard work My garden thanks you, too. I’ve set mine up just like yours little by little since I’ve e been following you. I had 100% success last year and this year is looking great despite our crappy spring weather with storms and loads of rain. Everything you share has been amazing. Give Dale a hug. I hope you, your wife and Dale have a great day!
This video was fascinating! I really loved learning about how commercial practices make the produce taste so bland compared to homegrown garden produce. Thanks for teaching us how to care for the produce after harvest too :)
So, what I like about vine ripened tomato's is that I can pick and eat them freshly when I am in my garden. I love cherry tomatoes, and many times I will eat a handful of them along with freshly picked blueberries. Odd combination but it works, good info and I will use this knowledge. thanks for sharing
Great video as usual. We love Dale too. Started tomato's in Fla from seed in November 6 plants in the pool screen area, Cut suckers for months and made 50 plants, Built large raised beds to accommodate all the new garden, Disease and animals taking their toll last couple weeks picked them all and removed the heirlooms this week left the determinates. I ate tomato's sandwiches for the last 3 months and we have about a hundred German Johnson green on every table in the house lol. Army worms, every leaf disease, borer worms, just started and over 5 inches of rain this last week. Your channel has inspired us immensely Thank you for the hard work you do.
I did almost the exact same thing here in central Florida and thought I started the season to early. Had a great harvest and ate my LAST tom sand for lunch today
The one thing that you didn’t include was that picking them in the hot part of the day is when their sugar content is the highest. They will be the most flavorful.
Opposite of peas and beans get them in the early morning as long as the dew is off the plant
Baloney
@@lindamorgan2678 and lettuce
It’s crisp in the morning
This is not true. The sugars produced in the tomato do not fluctuate throughout the day.
Thank you! I'm growing 19 different varieties this year and now I can enjoy them at peak flavor!
Just in time as my tomatoes are just coming in. After 70 years of gardening, I am still learning.
Great info. I have been doing this for years. My season is so short I don’t want to chance losing anything to the elements.
Your garden looks amazing.
This episode is very helpful. I had recently learned not to leave on the vine. Now, with all your information I will know when to remove from the vine.
I always pick when my tomatoes start to turn. I put them on my screened in patio on towels and allow them to ripen fully. They are so sweet. I make alot of canned salsa, spaghetti sauces and pizza sauce. They are great for sandwiches too. Glad to hear I have been doing it right. I live in Georgia and DO NOT use bug poisons.
Really good information! I've lost a lot of tomatoes during those last few days of vine ripening.
I am always in a trace with the birds, possums, and squirrels. I harvest at the first sign of a blush. Unfortunately, I picked 4 large black krim while still all green because I saw a darn bluejay amongst them! I'm hoping they will ripen with the bananas. 🤞🏾
Thank you so much for this info. I'm one of those guys who always waits until the last minute to pick a tomato. I'm going to try this this year because as you said the birds and the bugs are going to get them and you are right. I can't count how many times I've lost a prize tomato because I left them on until fully ripe. I've learned something from you everytime I watch one of your videos. Thank you!
There are other reasons people think vine ripened is better. Storing unripe tomatoes in the refrigerator shuts them down and they never ripen. Seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit is ideal ripening temperature.
Taste is gone when you put them in the fridge
or they simply are better.
Vine ripened taste better. There is a difference. Vine ripened will have more sugars and acid that they will continue to develop from the plant.