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Florida Gardening

too late for tomatoes to ripen?

16 years ago

i am cross-posting this to the tomato forum, but i don't know what kind of response i'll get for a FL garden.

i have 3 plants with green tomatoes on them-- 1 of sweet 100 cherry and 2 of zebra lightning [a med-size hybrid]. are they going to ripen on the vines? i know it's hot out [87, but heat index here says 102!] and the night temps are in the mid 70s...is that enough of a temp variance, or would that matter? it just seems they've been green for several weeks. last year i had a lot of luck with a yellow pear, but the one i planted this year keeps dropping its blossoms...

thanks,

shelbey

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Comments (2)

tony_k_orlando
16 years ago
I have not seen where temperature is as much a factor as direct sun is on the fruit.

I see no reason why they would not ripen for you.

If the green fruit has already changed to a lighter shade of green from its original color, it should ripen nicely on the counter as well if you are concerned about the temps outside.

Pick half of em and leave the other out on the vine. This way you will have a 50:50 chance of doing the 'right' thing.
treefrog_fl
16 years ago
The high nighttime temperature will affect pollination of the flowers, but not the ripening of the fruit. Most tomatoes won't set fruit when it's consistently humid & hot.
Hot sun on your maters will sunburn them. That's no good.
And generally hot temps will cause fruit to ripen unevenly, mottled, and quality is not as good as fruit grown in the cooler months here.
Sweet 100's and most cherry or currant tomatoes can handle heat much better than larger varieties, so should do alright, with moisture in the root zone, well into the summer.
One thing to remember, "full sun" does not mean the same thing here in FL as it does anywhere else. A little filtering shade is best.
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