Getting to the bottom of why those tomatoes aren’t growing in your garden.That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing the green fruits bursting on the vine but refusing to turn red. When you’re tomatoes aren’t ripening it’s usually not your fault.
Some reasons that might be the root cause, include temperatures being too hot, anything about 78 degrees. Or, too cold, anything 60°F or lower, and you’ll need to add 1-3 weeks onto their average maturity time.
Another reason could be that you picked a variety that is not suitable for your area. Overgrown or stressed vines won’t be good producers. Tomato plants only have so much energy to give. If they spend more time growing leaves or flowers, it doesn’t leave much to help the fruit turn red.
Check plants for Blossom End Rot. This could cause tomatoes to stop ripening due to the stress.
Another problem that could stop or hinder your tomatoes from ripening is the lack of proper sunlight. You might have picked a bad location for the plants without realizing it!
Tomatoes love the sunlight, and the plants need at least 7 hours of sunlight per day.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.