Greetings from 5b! This is my first year seriously growing slicer tomatoes and I’m all in! I’ve been eagerly awaiting my first harvest, and I think that we are almost there. One of my “Big Daddy” (haha) tomatoes is changing colour. I’m going to be out of town for the next 36 hours, and am unsure if I should pick it now and let it ripen inside, or whether I should leave it until I come back tomorrow night.
I have a tendency to pick my other veggies early because I have zero patience or self control haha.
by MeanVegetable6537
17 Comments
Looks like it! Gonna be a good one!
I’d pull it before you leave!
Big tomatos ripe slowly. That one is harvestable but unless you have critters that will eat it, I’d leave it on the vine till full ripe. It will take 5 more days I reckon
it will take longer to fully ripen on the vine than 36 hours. So you could leave it. But if your worried about pests eating it id pull it before you go. I would wait like 1 more day before pulling it, but you’ll be gone.
Looks great!
That’s a very underipe tomato but I’ve learned that some people pick them like that. I like to pick them when they’re ready to use.
Yep
Grab it before you go. I don’t mind the birds actually eating my tomatoes, but they just peck it once and then leave it to rot. You will have tomato rage!
You can pick it and it will continue to ripen on the counter. It would not ripen quite to the level of fully vine ripe but once they start turning colors they will ripen most of the way. We have squirrels and that one would absolutely be gone by the time we got back. You could also consider just bunching some netting up around it and hope for the best.
That’s early for a large tomato in 5b. Congrats and enjoy
I use small laundry bags with a zipper, 30×40 cm or 12×15 inches,
to put around apples, tomatoes, strawberries etc. that I want to protect against critters.
Just hanging the bags in the tree seems to scare a lot of animals away.
I buy them for cheap at the discount/dollar store..
https://preview.redd.it/b4h30q0ivfcf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8cff623ec233690f8ad4d1db4f1ed018efb22d0
Yeah cuz he’s such a bashful boy and you told him he was handsome.
I disagree with most of the responses. You’re gone 36 hours, not 36 days. Let it cook. It still won’t be fully ripe when you get back.
Looks about as ripe as i can get mine before the rats devour it
I would wait til it ripens fully, definitely a taste difference imo. Unless you have a serious pest problem like groundhog, raccoons, or other larger animal issue I wouldn’t pull it. The squirrels don’t typically mess with my tomatoes-but occasionally a wise one catches on to the food in the garden. It’s your call-but you have s good 4-7 days til fully ripe. Oh, or if you have temps above 95 coming in-if really hot pull it.
Pull it. It will ripen off the vine just fine once it’s blushed.
I’d grab it and let it ripen the rest of the way in a warm spot inside. I like to give mine some afternoon sun on my kitchen table for a couple days.