How to ripen outdoor toms

While greenhouse toms have extra heat, outdoor crops are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Here’s how you can help things along:

1 It might seem slightly mean, but partly unearthing your tomato plants will stress them and cause fruit ripening to speed up. Prise roots partly out of the earth using a garden fork – not too much, though!

2 Using secateurs, snip off tiny fruits that have not yet reached full size to give more mature toms the chance to ripen up. Pick other fruits as soon as they’re coloured, ripening them fully on a sunny windowsill.

3 Combat cold nights by covering outdoor plants with insulation. Either wrap them during the night with a double layer of horticultural fleece, or lay plants on a bed of straw and cover over with a decent tunnel cloche.