So I planted my tomato inside around april, then transplanted in june after we had our last frost... yeah it was cold winter/summer here . So I did get fruit, unfortunately I did get frost already here too, so I picked my biggest tomatoes and set them in my windowsill as instructed by a fellow gardener. I was reluctant because i figured they would rot before they turned red, but boy was I wrong, I had 3 that have turned red already and one that is in the process and 2 still waiting. I can't believe how well that worked out! I kinda like it, Though I am wondering is there any side effects of having to pick the fruit sooner than normal to keep it from dying in the frost? Is there a difference between a rippened on the plant tomato as to a ripened on the sill tomato? (besides the sill tomatoes can't grow any bigger)
Perhaps a little less flavor than those ripened on the vine. But sure better than those at the stores with no flavor at all. Almost everyone in cooler areas picks them and lets them ripen as you did. We are in the south so I wait till the last possible minute before rescuing the tomatoes left on the vine. I have found that if they have started to turn yellow/orange before picking almost no difference in taste. I even do that in the summer and let them ripen outside on the picnic table.
No real ill effects, but Sjoerd recommends that when you see the weather start to change, and you don't have enough time for new fruit to grow, cut off the tops of your toms to prevent new growth and clip off any blossoms, since they won't have time to grow into fruit and ripen. If you do this, it will focus the plant's energy into ripening the fruit you already have. Then, right before the first frost, if possible, pull the whole plant, bring it inside and hang it upside down so the last bit of life from the plant will go into the fruit. It is always best to leave the fruit on the vine as long as possible, not just for taste, but for nutritional value as well. So far, I've tried his advice with cutting the blossoms and new growth off of my tomato plants, and got immediate results of my tomatoes ripening. I have another week or two before I'll pull the plants. Give it a try next year and let us know what you think.
Tomatoes ripen from the inside out, so what seems to be a very green tomato may be in the process of ripening. Mart is right (as usual) in that the flavor may be less, but still better than the red tennis balls from the grocery. We go out when a hard frost is predicted, harvest every tomato bigger than a golf ball, and bring them in to ripen in the laundry room, which is the only place we have a large surface to spread them on. A couple of layers of newspaper under the green tomatoes, checking the tomatoes every day or two, and "harvesting" the ripe ones to enjoy. We have actually had ripe tomatoes from our garden (by way of the laundry room) for Christmas dinner.
thanks everyone, all your information has been very helpful. Beeker I will certainly give this a try!!
