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Still time to ripen those tomatoes

Written by Lisa Britton August 27, 2010 04:13 am

The weather has stunted some crops, but there are tricks

A Baker City garden still displays a mix of green and ripening tomatoes in late August. (Baker City Herald/S.John Collins)

You can blame the weather, not your gardening skills, for all those green tomatoes that seem stubborn to turn red.

“Tomatoes don’t do well under 50 degrees,” said Jimmy Roberts, Master Gardener coordinator for the OSU Extension Office, who included a note about ripening green tomatoes in September’s gardening newsletter.

In other words, nights that drop to the 30s don’t do these plants any favors.

Roberts said Sept. 26 is, on average, the first day of frost in Baker City.

That’s average, remember.

“Fifty percent of the time we get a freeze before Labor Day,” he said.

If low temperatures are forecast, he said gardeners can extend the growing season by covering plants with a tarp or plastic.

Once tomatoes start to turn red, the fruit can be picked and ripened indoors.

“Just make sure they have good air flow,” he said.

He said mature green tomatoes will ripen in about 14 days at 70 degrees.

Some crops are doing fine this year — Roberts has heard many reports of good bean crops, which surprises him.

“Beans are persnickety,” he said.

With cool, wet summers like this one, he said it’s important to keep an eye out for diseased plants, which should be burned or sent to the dump, not composted.

“Many of the viruses overwinter,” he said.

And remember: If your crop is less than bountiful, there’s always next year to try again.