Anyone in the Pacific Northwest have any ripe tomatoes yet?

[Matariki]

It's post Labor Day and even my Early Girls are still green :-(

Any garden experts know of any wizardry to speed up the ripening?

[Denninmi]

1. Yipes, I can sympathize.

I've heard how cold it's been in the PNW this year. Last year, we had the exact same thing here in the Midwest/Great Lakes through to New England. I'm in Michigan, and we had our coldest July ever and something like 2nd coldest summer ever. We had 7 or 8 nights last year in July when the lows hit 37/38 degrees, just above the frost point. It was crazy. Anything that liked the least bit of heat suffered. I had the same issues last year with many crops, growing poorly or not at all or not ripening. I planted about 400 tomato plants last year and got something like a net total of maybe 4 bushels of tomatoes.

The main suggestion I could give you is to erect some kind of a plastic canopy of cover over the plants to help trap the heat. Maybe something you could open partially in the daytime for ventilation and close up overnight to trap as much warmth as possible. Or, maybe get something like some sheets of plywood, paint it black, and put it on as a screen on the north, west, and east sides of the plants as a heat sink? I don't know how many plants you have, or what would be practical for you, but perhaps something like this would work. Even the floating row cover like Agribon traps some heat beneath it, that might help, too, and might be easier to do.

Really, anything you can do to provide warmth to the plants will help.

[Matariki]

6. Yep. My heat has been on - in August. Crazy.

Great year for peas though - those lasted well into July.

Maybe I'll invest in a greenhouse next year.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. I've had a few, mostly stupice...

but a few black princes too. I heard the farmer's market gal say to stop watering them in August so they will start to ripen up. I was gonna try that, then it rained for the first time in 2 months! :shrug:

[Matariki]

4. I'm growing both those varieties as well.

Hopefully *some* will ripen before end of september :shrug:

[beac]

3. Don't feel too bad. I just started getting fruits off my Early Girls here in VA

about two weeks ago, i.e. not very "early" at all. Another weird weather season in the garden!

Googled "speed ripening of tomatoes on the vine" and found this page: http://tipnut.com/ripen-tomatoes/ I've heard of some of these tricks and some were new to me. Hope some of them work for you. :hi:

[Matariki]

5. Thanks for the tips.

There are a *lot* of flowers at the top of all the plants. I'll go out and cut them tomorrow.

Now, about my 3 foot tall corn... lol.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Tomato woes: Is there a way to speed ripening? Well . . .

Tomatoes have everyone feeling blue, rather than seeing red. Well, maybe seeing red, but not on your tomatoes. Certainly not on mine, and not on 99 percent of the people I've talked to. Several times a day, someone asks me despondently why they don't have ripe fruit. I think I should wear a sign that says, "It's not your fault. You're not doing anything wrong."

It's just been too cool and moist for our most popular vegetable (actually fruit). Not even the professionals are successful this year. I talked to Josh Kirschenbaum, who does product development for Territorial Seed Co., and was astonished to learn that of the 300 varieties growing in the trial gardens at London Springs near Cottage Grove, only about 10 had ripened by Aug. 25. And they know what they're doing.

more
http://blog.oregonlive.com/kympokorny/2010/09/tomato_woes_is_there_a_way_to.html


I found this recipe last year, and it was extremely popular.. no-one guessed what the 'secret' ingredient was, and didn't much believe us when we told tbem!

Green Tomato Cake

* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
*1/2 c. butter
* 3 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 cup pecans or walnuts
* 1 cup raisins
* 2 1/2 cups diced green tomatoes
* coconut (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl, beat sugar, vegetable oil or shortening, eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; slowly beat into egg mixture. Blend well. Stir in pecans, raisins and tomatoes.
Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Top with coconut if desired. Bake for one hour, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. .
Serves 12.


edited to add recipe :)

[The empressof all]

10. That's a terrific cake

I make it every fall.

Also google Green Tomato Mincemeat. I use it to make cookies and pies.

[uppityperson]

8. It has been a cold wet yr for gardening, except for about a month

We have a couple cherry tomatoes and a couple romas that were in pots next to the house. I am looking for green tomato recipes, my beans have just started flowering also. Bah to summer 2010 in the Great Pacific NorthWet.

[The empressof all]

9. It's a really bad year isn't it

My zucchini's have been slack too...

I've had a semi decent cherry tomato crop. I grow them in a very sunny raised bed. I haven gotten more than a few full sized ones. The ones I have been able to harvest just weren't that good. I'm not pulling any plants out yet...I think we're due one more warm week in October....:rofl:

[uppityperson]

11. You know it's a bad yr when you don't have zucchini to give away