Tomatoes from your own garden taste best in summer. But what to do if the fruit doesn't want to turn red?
Many hobby gardeners are eagerly awaiting their tomato harvest, but sometimes the little fruits just don't want to turn red. Even under optimal conditions, it can take two to three weeks for the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) - botanically speaking it is a berry - to develop its bright red color. In addition to the colour, the taste also changes: the fruit clearly gains in aroma and sweetness over time.
The phytohormone ethylene is a crucial factor in starting the development from green to red fruit. The plant produces this gas itself, but it requires a lot of energy, mainly in the form of heat. And that's the crucial sticking point if nothing red can be found on the tomato plant - not even after a long wait: It's simply too cold.
Tomatoes don't turn red: 4 expert tips
In the following, we will show you which alternatives are available for turning the green tomato fruits red.
- Tip 1: Create sources of ethylene
The phytohormone ethylene promotes the ripening and reddening of tomatoes. If the tomato plants are planted in a small greenhouse, you can put fully ripe bananas or apples in the house. These produce ethylene in large quantities. This will speed up the ripening of the tomatoes. - Tip 2: Faking drought
If your plants are faking drought, panic and put all your energy into making the fruit turn red. However, the method should only be used in autumn, because the tomato plant will no longer really grow or form new flowers and fruits. - Tip 3: Tomatoes in unprinted paper
If the tomato plant is out of time in the garden but there are still plenty of green tomatoes, you can still plant them be helped to red color. Individual fruits can be wrapped in unprinted paper and placed in a warm place to ripen. Here, too, it helps if a ripe apple emits ethylene in the immediate vicinity.This method is also useful if the fruit just doesn't want to turn red all summer. Once the fruit has reached the right size, simply harvest and store warm indoors, wrapped in paper. Printed paper such as newspapers should be avoided due to he alth concerns (e.g. toluene in printer's ink). - Tip 4: Hang up tomatoes in the house
If there are still plenty of green tomatoes on the plant in autumn, you can cut off the entire plant and hang it like a bouquet of herbs Simply hang dry upside down in a warm spot indoors. The tomato berries gradually ripen and can continue to provide freshly harvested enjoyment from our own production for a few weeks after the tomato season in the garden.
Why are tomatoes red?
On the one hand, the red color protects the tomatoes from extreme sun, on the other hand, it is also intended to attract animals, which then eat the ripe fruit. The seeds are then excreted in turn, and new plants will germinate from them the following year. The tomato's blushing is therefore a sophisticated mechanism for the maintenance and spread of its own species.
By the way, not all tomatoes are red. There are also some black and blue tomato varieties that are particularly eye-catching.