How to Ripen Tomatoes

Knowing when to pick and how to ripen tomatoes should be an easy task. For the novice gardener, like me, checking out a book from the library or doing a quick Internet search should give me the information I need to know regarding what to look for when harvesting these delicious fruits. Unfortunately, there is a long-standing and quite heated debate among gardeners about when to pick tomatoes.

Some say that you should pick your tomatoes at the first signs of light color. Bring them indoors and ripen them in a metal bowl for about 10 days before eating or canning. Others say to wait until the tomatoes are reddish, then pick and allow them to ripen in the window sill. Still others say that you should not pick the tomatoes until they are almost completely red. Of course, there is a very loud voice out there that swears by waiting until the tomatoes are completely ripe on the vine for the best flavor.

Tomatoes all picked while lightly
orange. The smaller ones
ripened in about two days.

What is the right answer? Who knows? And I don't think I could even experiment to tell you. I seriously doubt I could tell the difference between a vine-ripened, bowl-ripened, or window-sill-ripened tomato. My palate is simply not that sophisticated. However, I do know that the benefits to harvesting tomatoes off the vine far outweigh the benefits of leaving them on the plant.

Birds, bugs, and other critters are strongly attracted to ripe tomatoes. By bringing the tomatoes indoors, you lower the risk of losing them completely. They are also less prone to diseases and developing bad spots that can keep the squeamish gardener from enjoying the fruits of his or her labor.

"Green Shoulders" is a term I've seen a lot while researching how to ripen tomatoes. See the tomatoes in the picture above? See the green on top? Apparently, that can happen when you leave a tomato on the vine to ripen in less than ideal circumstances. The green shoulders will stay green, leaving you with a partially inedible tomato. This is an argument for ripening indoors, as the green shoulders should eventually turn into a delicious red.

Two of the green tomatoes that were
"picked" by the dog.

But what about ripening green tomatoes? The dog recently went on another rampage through the garden, during which he so lovingly knocked over a couple of tomato plants. Yes, I have put up fencing and other barriers, but he somehow manages to not care when the neighbor dog is on the other side. I was angry at first, but the tomato plants are hanging in there and I only lost a couple of tomatoes. It also afforded me the opportunity to learn how to ripen tomatoes that are completely green.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of resources on how to ripen green tomatoes. Unfortunately, these resources are as varied as when to pick ripe tomatoes from the vine. Most sources suggest wrapping green tomatoes in newspaper and placing in a box or paper bag with a slice of apple or banana. Unwrap each tomato each day, throw out the ones that have rotted, then re-wrap until they have ripened. This process can take weeks. However, I have learned that green tomatoes placed in the window sill should eventually ripen, though it may take a bit longer.

The last piece of contention is where to ripen these tomatoes. Some say a window sill, because it is often the warmest place in the house. Others say that tomatoes should be ripened on a counter top, away from the harsh sunlight. Some also say to keep tomatoes completely in the dark. I figure that my tomatoes are outside anyway, so I'm using the windowsill. It's an area that is mostly shaded as you can tell by the photos that were taken well after sunrise. So far, the ripening process has been successful, and it has only been a couple of days.