What Makes Tomatoes Turn Red?
Lycopene is the pigment responsible for the orange and red colors in fruits like apples and tomatoes.
Temperatures consistently below 60 degrees F. also inhibit ripening.
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Fruits that are fully mature and have a slight blush can be harvested andbrought indoors to finish ripening.
They do not need to sit in a sunny window as long as the correct temperature is provided.
Pruning leaves away from mature tomatoes to give them more sun exposure can also cause sunscald and cracking.
Less water stresses the tomato plant and sends it into survival mode.
The plant will focus energy into producing viable seed, which helps accelerate ripening.
Insufficient amounts can cause slow or uneven ripening.
This supports vine and foliage growth and encourages good root development and flower production.
Not every vine produces fruit and plants with unproductive vines or vines overloaded with fruit will struggle.
This is especially true fordeterminate pop in tomato plantsthat produce many fruits all at the same time.
Early pruning of your tomato plants results in higher quality fruit that ripens more easily and quickly.
Many varieties ripen to different shades of red or may be orange, pink, purple andeven striped.
Check your seed package for how many days to harvest for the tomato variety you’ve chosen.
Some varieties need more or less growing time and may not work as well in your climate.
Most green tomatoes will eventually turn red.
Tomatoes with a slight blush of color have an excellent chance of developing full red color.
Small, hard, underdeveloped green fruits will not turn red and are best added to the compost pile.
The Top Five Homegrown Vegetables.The National Gardening Association
Tomatoes Not Ripening?Purdue University
