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Outdoor tomato plants - green fruit?

I have a number of outdoor tomato plants. I didn't pick off the runners earlier in the season. I now have lots of foliage and lots of tomatoes but they are mostly green. What can I do now to encourage ripening - e.g. some sort of pruning?

4 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Pinch the growing tips out so the plant puts it's energy into ripening the fruit. Cut off the larger leaves especially at the bottom so the light can get to the fruit as well. Then wait a couple of weeks as the weather is still warm and they will ripen on the vine. You will need to pick any remaining fruit before the frosts come. Then ripen them indoors on a sunny windowsill. A ripe banana will speed up the ripening process. Or you can use them green to make green tomato chutney which makes a lovely substitute for mango chutney in a curry.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    The only change I would make to Avalon's suggestion is to put the picked tomatoes where the animals can't eat them - like the ants, birds, raccoons, dogs, rabbits. An indoor windowsill, or just a kitchen cabinet, should do fine. If they start blushing on the vine, they will attract animals. You can cover the plants with bird netting and it will keep most of the varmits away. Be patient, they'll ripen. Mine are just now beginning to ripen.

  • 8 years ago

    Mine are green too, you could pick and put on a sunny window sill that would ripen them up. I think putting them near a banana helps too.

    Ive left them this week as a lot of sun, will give it a few more days then going to pick mine to ripen indoors as rain on the way.

  • 8 years ago

    The sun and heat ripens tomatoes.

    Making sure they are in the sun will help.

    Taking the leaves off that hang over the tomatoes and block sun, will help them too.

    Source(s): Fried green tomatoes are good to some people.
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