There are four reasons I never leave tomatoes to fully ripen on the vine:
- If you've got critters such as mice, squirrels and birds, they're most likely to steal your wares once the tomatoes are fully ripe and juicy. And trust me, there's nothing more infuriating than spending weeks watching that "perfect tomato" develop on the vine, deciding that "tomorrow will be the day I bring that baby in", only to find a mouse or squirrel had the same idea just one day earlier.
- I gift a lot of my tomatoes to friends, family, and food banks, and when I do, it's nice to provide a mix of varying ripeness so they'll have several weeks of tomatoes to enjoy.
- Super hot days and too much sun can sun scald any tomatoes that aren't shaded by leaves. And tomato ripening season is also when we get some of our hottest days.
- There's nothing to gain from leaving them out there.
Many people think that tomatoes need to ripen on the vine in order to have the best flavor. And that's true. But "ripe" isn't the red ripe you think it is.
If you're an information junkie like me, this is an excellent blog post about tomato ripening myths. I don't intend to repeat what's already written there, but I will bottom-line it for you.
Tomatoes are fully ripe when they come to what's called the "breaker point". That is the stage when the tomato stops pulling nutrients from the vine, and is basically just sitting there exposed to the elements and critters that can ruin your hard work. Here is a great chart that illustrates:
You'll see that breaker point is when the fruit is still green. Since it's not always easy to tell from the outside, I pick my tomatoes at the "Pink" stage, or sometimes the "turning" stage when I know I'll be too busy to go out for a few days.
Here's the haul I have on my counter right now:
The other bottom-line from the article I linked: Don't bother with fancy ripening techniques. They don't need to be put in a bag with a banana, and absolutely don't set them in a sunny window. I pile these in wide bowls and leave them on my counter. Room temperature (in the 70's), dry shade out of direct sunlight is ideal. Today is Wednesday. Most of the tomatoes above will look like the red ones on the right by the weekend.
So there you have it. Mythbusting the vine ripened tomato theory! Protect those babies and bring them in before you lose them, and until next time, Happy Gardening!
