TOP TIPS for TOMATOES!

Don't you think this is a beautiful photo?  I do - even though I took it myself!  And it is a good illustration for the following TOP TIPS for TOMATOES!  It has been a very disheartening month when the expected sunshine and warmth was noticeable by its absence, and that has meant that all the fruit and vegetables are struggling to ripen or perform to normal standard.  Such a shame!  |However, help is at hand...; see the information below which might help fellow frustrated tomato fans:

Tomatoes ripen in two ways:

• Firstly, from direct sunshine on their skins,
• Secondly, from photosynthesis from the leaves.

Both of the above encourage the fruit to produce ethylene gas which is what ripens the skins.
Leaves don’t need sunshine for photosynthesis, just light. So if you remove more than a few leaves this reduces the plant’s ability to ripen its fruit so it will take longer to do so.

If the tomato fruits are quite small and have a bit more growing to do, it is suggested to remove the biggest green ones and place in a bowl along with a ripening banana (not an already ripened banana skin). Bananas produce lots of ethylene as they ripen, but not very much when they have already ripened and just the skin is left. This will encourage the tomatoes to ripen too!

These are the tips from an obviously knowledgeable chap on Allotment Online – a FB group that I  follow.