When the weather is rainy and cold in August, fruits and vegetables ripen much more slowly. Then the question arises whether sun worshipers can be harvested green like tomatoes and then left to ripen? The advantages and disadvantages of this method at a glance.
Harvesting tomatoes green: In which cases does it make sense?
Tomatoes are in season in August. And the delicious vegetables are used in numerous ways in German cuisine. Homegrown tomatoes taste best, of course. However, if they ripen very slowly, they can also be harvested green. This makes sense in the following cases:
1. It rains very often: When they mature later than usual due to bad weather and rain. Heavy rain can damage the fruit, wet soil causes rot and the whole plant can die. In bad weather and temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius, the plants stop the ripening process anyway.
2. To prevent pest infestation: Basically, the longer it takes for the fruit to turn bright red, the higher the probability that it will be found and crawled on or eaten by pests. To avoid this, you can harvest the tomatoes green.
3. When the plants are sick: Some diseases spread quickly in the vegetable garden. If a tomato gets sick, you can harvest the neighboring plants. An early harvest is also advisable if the tomatoes suffer from fruit end rot due to too high a nitrogen content in the soil. Then you can harvest the healthy fruits, even if they are still green.
In some cases, the fruit simply will not ripen. For example, if the tomatoes are too small, if they have black spots or if they have split open. Even if you need seeds, you need to find ripe fruit.
Harvesting and storing unripe tomatoes correctly: you have to pay attention to this
The best way to harvest green tomatoes is to cut off the entire tomato panicles with sharp pruning shears. This way they mature faster and last longer. Alternatively, if the whole plant only has green fruits, you can cut them off at ground level and bring them indoors that way.
The right time is in late summer and early autumn. The tomatoes are picked on a sunny, frost-free day.
Harvest only large and medium-sized specimens, the very small tomatoes will no longer grow and will rot in the storage room. If you are not sure what size the ripe tomatoes from a variety should be, then you can check the degree of ripeness. Cut a tomato in half – if there is liquid around the tomato seeds then the fruit will ripen. However, if you cannot move the seeds back and forth with the knife, the fruit will rot.
Storage tips
Correct storage then plays a crucial role. Unripe tomatoes are not particularly aromatic. In order to improve the taste of the fruit flesh as it ripens, you should leave the fruit on the tomato stalks for the first time. However, the leaves must be removed so that they do not become entry points for mold and bacteria.
The storage depends on whether you have harvested individual fruits or cut off the entire plants.
Individual fruits: Separate ripe and unripe tomatoes. The green fruits are placed in paper bags or wrapped with wrapping paper and the ripe fruits are placed in the cold. Whole plants are hung upside down in the storage room.
Dark basements and attics are good storage spaces. The optimal temperature in the storage room is between 19 and 21 degrees Celsius and the humidity should be between 60% and 80%. Tomatoes do not like direct sunlight, they ripen best when stored in the dark.
Letting tomatoes ripen: Useful tips
The ripening time depends on the variety. It is important that they often check the tomatoes and remove rotting or diseased specimens. Ripe tomatoes are kept cold or used. If you want to speed up the process, place a ripe banana next to the green tomatoes. It will give off ethylene – a gas that promotes ripening. Ripe apples have a similar effect.
Can you eat green tomatoes raw or processed?
Green tomatoes contain the substance solanine, which is toxic to humans and animals in large quantities. In order to avoid accidents, you should not eat unripe tomatoes raw or process them further. Anything that doesn’t mature is discarded. You must also allow the tomatoes to ripen in an area indoors that is out of the reach of pets and small children.