I am absolutely devastated. Lost 16 heirloom plants that I grew from seed. These are the ones that I saved and I’m hoping some of these will ripen eventually, but they’re very green, no blush. What do you guys think? Should I hold out hope?
by Spiritual_Ice3880
29 Comments
I bet some will.
Maybe try putting them in a paper bag with a banana? Alternatively there are recipes that use the green tomatoes (soup, pickles, etc.)
Last year I tried making green tomato jam. The recipe I made included a jello packet and the recipe was not a win, so maybe avoid any recipes like that.
I’m Italian background and my mother used to make pickled green tomatoes with the ones that never got to ripen. Tomatoes, garlic and mint leaves and olive oil. Great as a side and on sandwiches. Tomatoes need to at least blush before they’re picked in order to ripen. If you have any ripe ones, put one in a paper bag with some green ones and after 3-4 days if you see no change, they won’t ripen. Good luck
I had a lot like this last Summer around the first frost. I put them in a brown bag in the oven. All but one or two ripened. They won’t be as sweet as if they ripened on the plant, but they won’t be wasted.
Salsa verde is pretty tasty if they don’t ripen. Also fried green tomatoes are solid.
Fried green tomatoes would be excellent. I think some will ripen. I feel like I would have left them on longer to see what managed to pull through but im not the best advice as this is my first year of growing legit tomato plants and I only have 3 right now because heat and maybe pot size.
I have my doubts, maybe some will but I’d bet that the majority of them will not
there are things to do of course.
some of them look good for fried green tomatos, and ive had some success pickling the smaller green tomatos. My dad and I used to also cook some up and blended up with some raspberry jello, to make a sort of faux-raspberry jam
Before the last frost I always harvest all my tomatoes even the green ones. I stick the green tomatoes in cotton bags and they tend to slowly ripen through the winter months. They are not as flavorful than the tomatoes that ripen on the vine but still not bad.
Not many. Get rid of any already showing signs of rot. The lighter the green the more chance it’ll turn red. Sorry for your bad luck, better luck next year!
I had horrible blight after hurricane Beryl. Everything was fine up until then. Had to take out all of my tomato plants as well. Thankfully my seedlings are growing strong and I can plant in a few weeks. Does anyone know if I have to remove all of the existing dirt that caused the blight?
Dill pickled green tomatoes are awesome! The smaller ones will work best. We had a short growing season where I grew up, so there were always lots of green tomatoes to pickle when the frost came. Such a treat.
Fried green tomato on a cheeseburger is excellent. Green tomato relish is also very good.
chow chow
2021 was a bad year for tomatoes so we ended up making plenty of pickle jars with dill, garlic and other herbs. They’re delicious with meats.
Not sure, but I wouldn’t count on it. Put them in a paper bag over night.
I lost my small field of corn on the cob to a family of raccoons.
Sorry for your loss! Most of these look very early. I would suggest trying to use lots of them (most of them) in “green tomato” recipes instead of just waiting for them to ripen.
I personally will make pasta sauce with my green tomatoes (I’ve been having difficulty getting them to ripen), and it’s honestly just as good as red pasta sauce
In my experience, yes, they will. Eventually
Some will ripen with the banana trick – most will not.
I use green tomatoes for my green relish recipe. I also have a pickled green tomato recipe that is amazing.
As a last resort, fried green tomatoes – not my favorite, but better than wasting them.
Edit – you could also try selling them – I know the year I didn’t have a garden I struggled to find green tomatoes for my relish recipe.
Two ripe bananas in a brown paper bag
You and I are in the same position. I lost 21 plants to blight. Most of my tomatoes were beyond saving but a small handful I think might survive. If they do develop small brown spots I’m going to cut out the brown and put it in the freezer for making tomato sauce
Any time I’ve tried to save my tomatoes after the plant had blight, the tomatoes themselves have developed blight before they’ve ripened, even when they looked unaffected when they were picked.
Make pickled green tomatoes!
I love [this recipe](https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/green-tomato-pickles.htm) – I had the same problem last year with blight.
Every year I pull green tomatoes like this at the end of the season and get them to ripen on my kitchen counter near a sunny window.
Oh they’ll ripen. This happened to me last year. I thought none would, then “The Ripening” was upon me and I couldn’t keep up. I ended up using Debbie Meyer green bags to slow them. I lined a basket with them, then took them out to ripen as needed. I always bring mine in right when they break off easily anyways, even before any color is showing. I have a counter full of fully ripened brought in green tomatoes right now. They’ll be fine!
Excellent move. Place them spaced apart on some newspaper near a lighted window. A little bit of sun is more than okay. If any turn white and mushy, toss them. Also if they get too soft at the bloom end regardless of color
Green tomato relish or salsa is good if you get tired of eating them fried. I would corn batter them with okra and pan fry them tho.
They will all ripen. It will just take about 2 weeks or so.