5 Easy Ways to Ripen Your Tomatoes Quickly

Contents

• Why Do My Tomatoes Not Ripen Quickly?
• Here are the reasons why your tomatoes are not ripening.
  • 1. Every type of tomato has its own time of maturity.
  • 2. The ambient temperature is a significant factor.
  • 3. Your tomatoes are not red tomatoes.
• What You Can Do: 5 Easy Ways to Ripen Your Tomatoes Quickly
  • 1. Riper The Tomatoes Indoors
  • 2. Place Them Inside a Cardboard Box, Jar or a Plastic Bag
  • 3. Try The Shelf Method
  • 4. Pick The Undeveloped Green Tomotoes
  • 5. Uproot The Tomatoes
• Wrapping Up

Why Do My Tomatoes Not Ripen Quickly?

Tomatoes are one of the best fruits to grow in your backyard. The nutritious content, such as lycopene, offers a lot of health benefits. It is also among the staple ingredients for spaghetti, ketchup, salsa sauce and many other appetizing dishes. These could be some of the reasons why you have decided to grow tomatoes in your very own yard.

Its exceptional substance, Lycopene, is quite noticeable on tomatoes because of their bright red pigment, and with such trait, you’ll know your tomatoes are growing healthy, ripened and can be picked in its due season. So, what if they still do not turn red and have not ripened yet? Why do your tomatoes not ripen as quickly as they should be? Are there any other ways to ripen your tomatoes quickly?

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5 Easy Ways to Ripen Your Tomatoes QuicklyWhy Do My Tomatoes Not Ripen Quickly?Here are the reasons why your tomatoes are not ripening.1. Every type of tomato has its own time of maturity.2. The ambient temperature is a significant factor.3. Your tomatoes are not red tomatoes.What You Can Do: 5 Easy Ways to Ripen Your Tomatoes Quickly1. Riper The Tomatoes Indoors2. Place Them Inside a Cardboard Box, Jar or a Plastic Bag3. Try The Shelf Method4. Pick The Undeveloped Green Tomotoes5. Uproot The TomatoesWrapping Up

Here are the reasons why your tomatoes are not ripening.

1. Every type of tomato has its own time of maturity.

All types of tomatoes do not have standard time to mature and ripen. That’s why you may expect that some tomatoes may not ripen as quickly as the other types. There are short-season tomatoes and longer-season tomatoes. It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for tomatoes to ripen from the time the seeds are pollinated. If you really prefer tomatoes that ripen quickly, Early Girl (hybrid), Stupice (heirloom) and Glacier (heirloom) are some of the short-season tomatoes that you can try.

2. The ambient temperature is a significant factor.

The outside temperature might be too hot or too cold. And sometimes, Mother Nature’s a bit tricky with the seasons. It could be more challenging, though, for those countries whose temperatures change quite often. The control is out of our hands and we cannot just do anything about it.

Tomatoes produce lycopene and will likely ripen between the temperatures of 50 and 85 F or 10 to 29-degree Celsius. If the temperature goes over 85F or 29C, the production of lycopene and carotene might be delayed. On the other hand, if the temperature gets colder than 50F or 10C, your tomatoes will stay green.

3. Your tomatoes are not red tomatoes.

That’s right. One of the reasons why your tomatoes do not turn red cause, perhaps, they are not red tomatoes! Tomatoes might be popularly known as red in color, but they still vary in color. Due to the popularity of heirloom tomatoes, their pigment may not always be as the usual. They can be orange, yellow, pink, purple and green. Hence, it is best to jot down a few notes and know what type you’re planting, when they would mature and what color they would be when they reach maturity.

What You Can Do: 5 Easy Ways to Ripen Your Tomatoes Quickly

If you have started growing your tomatoes and want them to ripen quickly, there are definitely a lot of ways to do so. You do want your tomatoes to ripen as quickly as possible but you do not want to compromise its delicious flavor. You can try these five (5) easy and effective steps to ripen your tomatoes at home.

You should click here to read more about tomatos:

• How often to water tomatoes?​
• How far apart to plant tomatoes?
• The Ultimate Compost Guide: Sure Fire Ways to Improve Plant Growth
• Saving Seeds will Save and Make You Money

1. Riper The Tomatoes Indoors

Some opt to ripen their tomatoes indoors due to insect pests or sunscald, intense heat or freezing temperature. If you also prefer this way, you can already pick your tomatoes when they are at the “breaker stage” or when the pink shade becomes visible.

When you notice they have reached the mature size, you can bring your tomatoes indoors to complete the ripening phase. Once you picked them up and brought them inside, perhaps on your kitchen counter, your tomatoes will ripen perfectly if you keep them out of exposure from direct sunlight.​

2. Place Them Inside a Cardboard Box, Jar or a Plastic Bag

The warm temperature inside a container such as a box, a jar or a plastic bag, could help ripen your tomatoes quickly. You can place the tomatoes inside a cardboard box where newspapers are lined up together with the apples or bananas wrapped or stored in paper bags. You can also place them in a jar or plastic bag together with a ripening apple or banana. Moisture might build up which may cause molds inside the container. To prevent this, you can make some holes in the plastic bag or the jar’s lid. The lid of the jar may also be taken off regularly.

3. Try The Shelf Method

The shelf method is also one of the common ways to ripen tomatoes. Unripe tomatoes are placed on a shelf and covered with newspapers. The warm temperature also allows the tomatoes to give off ethylene gas thus speeds up the ripening. Every tomato can also be wrapped individually in a newspaper for a more effective process. However, it is required to unwrap the tomatoes every now and then to check if they have ripened. If you don’t mind giving much effort, you can do this so.

4. Pick The Undeveloped Green Tomotoes

A cold temperature might affect the ripening process. It slows down the ripening or might not let them develop any further. Hence, you can pick the green tomatoes that seem undeveloped and continue ripening them indoors.

5. Uproot The Tomatoes

This method is also applicable during a freezing cold temperature. As what was mentioned, a cold temperature over 10C or 50F, might hinder the ripening process thus won’t let it develop any further. In such instance, you can uproot the tomatoes and hang them upside down indoors. Perhaps in a basement or garage. This method lets you ripen the tomatoes on the vine. Just remember that when you proceed with this process, you should reduce watering, regularly trim the plants, cut off the withered leaves and cover them at night.​

Wrapping Up

Ripening tomatoes is not as tough as you think it is. I have had this problem before during a freezing cold temperature. The intense heat is not also good, though. However, I find these steps quite effective to speed up the ripening process. You can also try some of these steps and enjoy the next dish with your delicious, flavorful and healthy tomatoes!

If you are also planning to grow other plants in your yard, such as chayote, you can try this quick and easy steps!​