This is the place to discuss not just allotments but all general gardening problems and queries which don't fit into the specific categories below.
(formerly allotments and tips, hints and problems)
well i dunno but it depends what maturity plant was ie early or late sown position of greenhouse etc.i am sure they will do well by back end of august .
but if you have some left you can make green tomato chutney i like it with sultunas sweet chili and some madras curry powder in it.
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY.
My mums says not to stress yet - I think that coz she knows nothing about gardening and she just has 3 tomato plants that I gave her so subsequently hers are the same. She just says don't worry mine aren't red yet either. But as I grew them that itsn't much help! Bless - well it is a mums job to reassure
Thanks for help tho gunners - I will let you know later in month if I need that chutney recipe. I could end up having to make alot tho as I have 11 plants - moneymakers, cherries, plum and a beefsteak. Moneymakers are the most advanced the others were planted later.
I do have a couple of lovely looking green peppers coming too so maybe I could incorporate those - Green is Good!
Yes, I've made lots of green tomato chutney in the past... But they are supposed to ripen after picking if you wrap them in newspaper and just leave them lying about in the house for a while.
If it's any consolation, mine are far from red, too; and this year I actually planted them on time, and the weather hasn't been that cold either, AND they are in the polytunnel...
My plum tomatoes are loaded with big, fat, juicy............ green tomatoes. My Gardeners Delight are still flowering as they are really behind and the bush cherries are just crazy and I have been nipping them out as they are taking over like triffids. The original green tomatoes that formed are not seeing the light of day!
And we have only had one day under 20C in the last 2 months!
AND I am watching the basil going to seed which is a real shame!!!
BTW, be careful about the idea of picking them and ripening them off the plant. Or, at least, be careful not to forget about them. Last year, I filled a draw with green and orange toms at the end of the season to see if they would ripen or, if not, to turn them into chutney when I got a chance.
Unfortunately, I left it a bit too long - a few weeks later I was searching for the mobile phone charger, opened the draw and was met with the sweet smell of decay and a buzz of tiny flies! Ho-hum... all fuel for the compost!
BTW, be careful about the idea of picking them and ripening them off the plant. Or, at least, be careful not to forget about them. Last year, I filled a draw with green and orange toms at the end of the season to see if they would ripen or, if not, to turn them into chutney when I got a chance.
Unfortunately, I left it a bit too long - a few weeks later I was searching for the mobile phone charger, opened the draw and was met with the sweet smell of decay and a buzz of tiny flies! Ho-hum... all fuel for the compost!
Oh I don't feel so bad now - I will continue happily waiting for red then.
My brother-in-law was here at the weekend (from Portsmouth) and said they'd been eatting his toms since early July. I know he lives down south and I am sure he planted early in a heated greenhouse etc but I just felt ooooh dear and panic set it.
At least this great forum put my mind at rest (for now).
Thanks everyone.
Oh I don't feel so bad now - I will continue happily waiting for red then.
My brother-in-law was here at the weekend (from Portsmouth) and said they'd been eatting his toms since early July. I know he lives down south and I am sure he planted early in a heated greenhouse etc but I just felt ooooh dear and panic set it.
At least this great forum put my mind at rest (for now).
Thanks everyone.
My toms are still green too but the ones on the moneymaker plant are just beginning to think about turning. My ailsa craigs are nowhere near but my brother in law who lives in scotland says that green is ok, plenty of time yet and on the plus side at least everything won't come at once if we are staggering the growth. He's suggested cutting the leaves off below the growing tomatoes so that more energy can go in to ripening them. Don't know if any one else has heard of this but, as I say, tried it on the moneymaker plant and it seems to be helping them along.
Cutting leaves around the tomatoes can help too, lets the sun onto them. And if all else fails, at the end of the season, you can rip the whole plant out, and hang it from it's roots somewhere warmish, and the toms should still continue to ripen.
I have a vague feeling that intorducing ethylene will also help them ripen. This would be easier in a greenhouse but say if you put a garbage bag over the plant with a ripe/overripe banana or two in it to produce the ethylene, this would speed up the ripening process. I haven't tried it but suggest it as a possibility.
I did remove the leaves about 10 days ago - I have always done this. I understand it encourages growth to new areas, stops plant feeding leaves that aren't really required and allows sun to toms. But as you can guess the toms are still green!
mine are still green..well with just a few orange ones...I was told to hang banana skins nearby and the toms would ripen...not that I believed it, but I did it anyway...just it case it was true ...and it seems to work. I also have a Russian friend and she tells me they always did that in Russia and it worked for them...so try it!
well i dunno but it depends what maturity plant was ie early or late sown position of greenhouse etc.i am sure they will do well by back end of august .
