Dear Gardeners,
This article is from the Vancouver Sun.
Don't panic if your tomatoes aren't ripe yet The cool fall temperatures will help them turn red, according to a University of B.C. horticulturalist
By Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun September 18, 2010 It's raining and the nights are cold; a dark time for those of us stuck with unripened tomatoes on the vine.
Or is it?
University of British Columbia horticulturalist Brendan Fisher says it is too early to press the panic button, though I have to admit my button finger is itching.
"We are lucky in Vancouver that we have a relatively late frost date," said Fisher. "Going into the cool fall will actually help to ripen tomatoes, so there is no need to panic right now."
Rain and cold nights can conspire to promote late blight. If you grow tomatoes in a semi-shady backyard, you are already familiar with the results: spotty leaves, white mould, blackened stems and greasy-looking grey spots on the fruit.
If you are so afflicted, says Fisher, cut away the bad leaves quickly, pick the affected fruit and remove the material from your property. Do not compost this stuff as late blight can survive light frost. This fungus caused the Irish potato famine, so don't fool around with it. To delay the blight, take some rope and a sheet of plastic and rig up a well-ventilated cover for your plants to keep the rain and dew off them. (Really smart gardeners -- I am not one -- grow their tomatoes from June onward under clear plastic cover.)
If you hold off the blight, you can leave tomatoes on the vine until at least mid-October. Pick them all before the first frost.
If you have an affected plant, you can pick the green mature fruit and ripen it inside the house. Immature green fruit, which is hard and dark green, will never ripen so you can just throw that away.
"Any good tomatoes that are still on the plant, you can harvest those for sure," said Fisher. "Mature green tomatoes are much larger and have a light green to white coloration."
If you have a large number of tomatoes, you can confirm that they are "green mature" by cutting one open. The seeds should be fully formed and encased in a gel.
Tomatoes already showing a hint of red (or purple or black depending on the varieties you grow) will ripen quite quickly on a window sill.
If you have a lot of mature green fruit, place them one layer deep in cardboard boxes and store in a cool place to activate the enzymes that promote ripening. Be careful not to puncture the skin.
"Ripening in boxes will probably take about 14 days," Fisher advised. "Putting them in a cool place replicates cool fall conditions."
If you want to expedite the process, place a ripe apple or banana in the box. Many ripe fruits give off ethylene gas, which triggers the ripening process in tomatoes. Tomato vines themselves produce ethylene to promote on-vine ripening.
Don't forget that you can eat green tomatoes, too. I like them sliced thick and fried with cracked chilies and a pinch of salt, but the Internet has plenty of instruction for deep-fried green tomatoes, tomato jams and green tomato relishes.
Fresh Green Tomato Relish 1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely diced 1 green chili, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds Tiny pinch of clove
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 large green tomatoes, peeled, diced
1 tablespoon dill fronds, chopped Kosher salt and black pepper
Saute the onions in olive oil until soft, then add the peppers, chilies, garlic, celery seeds, mustard seeds and clove. Simmer two minutes. Add sugar, vinegar and lemon juice and heat through. Add the tomatoes, dill fronds, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and re-season as required. Add a tablespoon of water if the mixture is too stiff.
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