Suggestions lead to fruitful result
Apparently, it’s not just our problem. I heard from several people over the past week who are having similar problems getting their tomatoes to ripen. Earlier this summer, my lovely wife had installed a bunch of tomato plants in her little garden by the back door. Thanks to this summer’s wet weather, blossoms abounded, and tomatoes popped out all over. They grew bigger and bigger. I feared the patch was going to take over the house and the yard. Perfect in form and size, the tomatoes were a marvel. But, they weren’t getting ripe.
My wife decided to pick them, fearing they may become victims of a mysterious blight. Some of the tomatoes had already succumbed, their tops turning black.
I went online and found advice about how to ripen the fruit (yes, a tomato is a fruit).
One counsel said to wrap them individually in newspaper and put them in a dry, dark place, making sure to check their progress every day. Another garden sage said to put them in brown paper bags and store them in a dry, dark place.
Yet another expert said to make sure not to put them where the temperature would reach more than 85 degrees or they wouldn’t ripen.
We reviewed the information and, since we had a supply of small paper bags, opted to go that route. We bagged the tomatoes and put them all in a powder room where we could close the door, creating a dry, dark place.
After writing about our plight, I got a couple of phone calls and a letter.
One of our readers in Markleysburg said to put an apple in the bag with the tomatoes. She learned that trick from Florida tomato growers.
A fellow, also from the mountains east of town, said his grandfather instructed him that “it’s all in the soil,” and that he roto-tilled manure into his garden to sweeten the dirt.
As for our abundance of green tomatoes, he told me to “toss ’em in some flower and fry ’em up” if they don’t ripen.
Our letter writer said she heard from several other area gardeners who had the same trouble. Their tomatoes weren’t getting ripe on the vine, and some lost quite a lot of plants in the process.
So, what has worked to turn the green orbs red?
The advice about the apple in the bag appears to be the best so far. I placed one in a bag with three tomatoes. Within about a day, I saw a familiar rosy blush.
However, I also found one or two bagged without apples that were starting to turn red.
Placing them in the sun on the kitchen windowsill, they grew redder, and we began eating them. Since then, we have been eating a lot of tomato sandwiches, tomatoes as a side dish and chopped tomatoes in salads.
Some of them may become tomato sauce. And, as the ripening process continues, we will be looking for other ways to prepare them.
Fortunately, our supply isn’t infinite. Otherwise, I’d be writing about 101 different ways to eat a tomato.
We have bemoaned how tomatoes bought at the local grocery just don’t have that good, old-fashioned fresh-from-the-garden flavor.
Well, our tomato tale could be translated into an old adage: Sometimes there’s just too much of a good thing.
I think next year we’ll plant peppers.
Have a good day.
James Pletcher Jr. is Herald-Standard business editor. He can be reached at 724-439-7571 or by e-mail at jpletcher@heraldstandard.com
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