Growing tomatoes can be tricky in climates where summers are unreliable and steady sunshine cannot be guaranteed. However, Monty’s know-how will help you maximize your tomato harvest no matter how good a summer you’ve had.
Monty’s top tips for ripening green tomatoes
Writing in his blog (opens in new tab), Monty acknowledges that many gardeners will want to ’extend’ tomato harvesting period beyond the peak season in August. This is especially true if warm, sunny weather has been late to arrive where you are, in which case you’ll want to make the most of your vegetable garden ideas during the final warm weeks of late summer. First, Monty recommends pruning tomato plants ’to strip off the bottom half of the leaves on each plant’. At this point in the season, you want to be encouraging your tomato plants to put all the energy they’re getting into the fruit, so stripping off leaves ‘will let in light and air so that the growing fruits get more sun and also the extra ventilation will reduce the risk of disease.’ Again, doing this is very important if you’ve had a wet summer, as your tomatoes will be especially vulnerable to rot and fungal problems that even tomato companion planting can’t mitigate. In fact, Monty advises that ’this process can be continued weekly until there are no leaves left at all.’ Don’t worry that the plants won’t look very nice – just focus on that fruit. This is also the time of year when you’ll want to cut down on watering, ‘unless it is very hot to avoid the fruit splitting.’ Instead of regular watering, refocus your efforts on fertilizing your tomato plants with liquid seaweed, ‘or, if you can make it, home-made comfrey feed.’ As Monty points out, both of these natural fertilizers ‘are ideal for maximizing flower and fruit production.’ If nothing works, and by the end of September your tomatoes are still green, gardener and author Sarah Raven (opens in new tab) advises to ‘pick the green tomatoes and bring them indoors to ripen on a sunny windowsill.’ So long as the fruit is of a decent size, it should still ripen at home.
