Michigan Tomato Fail

[emraldfire]

Hey everybody. I have a problem with my tomatoes, and I suspect that there are other people from Michigan having the same dillemma. Our summer has been very odd, and it has not been very warm at all. It has been too chilly for any of my full size tomatoes to ripen. I have about 15 plants covered in green bulbs, begging me to turn the temp up just a

Comments

[yesididit]

i'm in minnesota (zone 4) and having the same problem.

[emraldfire]

it's quite the bummer, huh?

[yesididit]

i planted twice as many plants as last year hoping to make huge amounts of sauce, and i havent even gotten half the tomatoes i got last year. and all the darn green tomatoes are weighting down the plants, tipping over the tomato cages and the rebar stakes i used.

[bailey36]

ditto. and many of my best producers turned rotten after all the rains we had recently, maybe 6+" in a 9 day period. I'm still tying everything up, but as few branches did break, AND NOW THE MOLES HAVE MOVED INTO MY GARDEN TOO, SIGH.

[liminalia]

You could try laying black landscape cloth around the base of the plants to trap heat. If you have to gather green tomatoes before a frost, put them in a paper bag with a ripe apple or banana or 2 and roll up the top for a few days.

[emraldfire]

they already have thick black plastic garbage bags around the bases of them. it helps with the weeding too ;).

i will try the paper bag trick though, thanks!

[marzolan]

That trick with the paper bag will usually cause a rapid color change as it increases the level of ethylene gas kept near the skin of the fruit, which is the chemical released over the course of the sugar maturation process that triggers the color change. Most culinary scientists agree that this process doesn't actually enhance the maturation process, only the rate at which the fruit -appears- to be ripe. My own personal experience with performing this little trick along with a control specimen that was simply kept in a cool place seems to back this up. Many still stand by the process though. I still feel it's a myth perpetuated by big box grocery stores who pinch pennies by carrying unripe fruits and vegetable in an effort to artificially extend their shelf lives.

[krystalily]

Yup, this is my first year with tomatoes and we've only gathered 10 ripe tomatoes off of the plants (3 tomato plants here). My green bell peppers haven't done *anything* this summer except flower. :( Disappointing, but I am starting to get excited for next summer! I'm already planning out the garden for then and hopefully the weather will be a little hotter than it was this past summer.

[emraldfire]

yes i'm hoping it will be better too. but i do plan on investing in some siberian tomatoes in case it's chilly next year too!

[lapochka99]

do siberian tomatoes ripe faster or do they tolerate cooler temps?

[emraldfire]

i belive it is that they continue producing in cooler temps, but i could be wrong.

[hrafn]

My experience with this is nonexistent, but what about building a lightweight "greenhouse" around them? Like a hoophouse, some sort of quick/easy structure that you can put plastic sheeting over.

(Hopes someone more clueful will weigh in on this idea.)

I'm in Boston, and it hasn't gotten quite that cold at night, yet, but we had an awfully cool, OVERCAST summer :(

[rainien]

LOL I was thinking the same thing. Something like the row covers for early spring gardens that I've seen in catalogs maybe? *goes on a search* Here it is!

[prisoner__24601]

Yup. I'm having the same damn problem here (I live in Metro Detroit). I have these huge tomato plants full of green tomatoes that are taking forever to ripen. I've never had this problem with my tomato plants before. Last year I had so many tomatoes I didn't know what to do with them. This year, I've had about 10 ripen total off of eight plants.

This has been such a bizarre year for weather here. The other day I was wearing a sweater... in freaking August. Gah.