Kitchen Garden Forum

I am growing tomatoes in a greenhouse in grow bags. There's loads of fruit, but they show no signs of ripening. Any tips for encouraging this?
Cheers, Lynda

Try putting a few overripe bananas in there Lynda, they give off a gas that encourages ripening. We really need more sunshine ! My outdoor ones are ripening and halfway through cropping, maybe remove a few leaves from above the fruit if the foliage is keeping the sun from them?

I also use banana peel; it gives off ethelene. If your greenhouse is quite crowded it may be that the tomatoes are getting less light than they would if outside. They will ripen up, though.

Hi ltweddle,
As Mike has previously mentioned light might may be a problem.
As the trusses set on my Tomatoes I start reducing the size of leaves below the trusses. I simply sever half the leaf allowing more light in and ultimately as the plant progresses and further trusses set then the lower trusses begin to ripen the lower leaves are removed altogether.
Now this might look a bit odd but it gives good ventilation and light to the plant and also your plant is expending energy maintaining these unnecessary leaves. I have persued this policy for a great number of years and it has worked very well for me.
JB.

Mike Vogel wrote:I also use banana peel; it gives off ethelene. If your greenhouse is quite crowded it may be that the tomatoes are getting less light than they would if outside. They will ripen up, though.

Just a query about this really. I know often fruit bought at supermarkets etc is ripen using ethylene gas and this seems to have an adverse effect on flavour. I know strawberries have a better flavour when ripened in sunshine - something about the sunshine turning the straches into sugars - so how does the banana method compare to sun ripened.

Hi Lynda

I do as Johnboy and remove some of the foliage. I usually reduce watering, but still water regularly, just less. This works for me. Waiting to be shot down by others
I rarely stop my plants, but this may help too.