Q Why haven’t my tomatoes turned red yet?
AJAMES SAYS I am glad someone feels my pain. Tomatoes are notoriously slow at ripening, particularly in cool summers and on outdoor plants towards the end of the growing season.
However, there are some evidenced-based techniques that can help speed up ripening. Keeping plants on the dry side triggers their survival mechanisms, which can cause them to divert energy from making new leaves and flowers to ripening existing fruit. Also, the fewer trusses of fruit you leave on a plant, the quicker they’ll ripen, for the same reason. Instead of the traditional four trusses, leaving just two will result in earlier harvests.
Both these techniques have also been scientifically demonstrated to result in higher levels of sugars, aroma compounds and antioxidants, making not just for earlier harvests but tastier and more nutritious fruits too.