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Introduction: Ever-green tomatoes, they'll drive you crazy!
It can drive you crazy. A beautiful tomato plant you've grown yourself from seed to a proud climber. Every day or every few days, you check on it to make sure it has everything it needs. You plant your plants in fertile soil full of nutrients.
After a while, the yellow flowers in your greenhouse or conservatory will shine brightly, and the insects that land on them will make you dream of delicious tomatoes. Then, little green balls form from the hearts of the flowers, making your heart race. And the green balls grow bigger and bigger, taking on the shape of the final fruit. Many people, especially in the fall, are faced with green tomatoes that just won't turn red, searching for an answer. Your mouth is already watering, and every day you check the greenhouse to see if they're starting to blush, but in vain...
The third, fourth, or even fifth cluster of tomatoes has already formed, and still no red tomatoes, only green ones. You're starting to get annoyed because you realize something's wrong... but what? In this article, you'll find the answer to why your tomatoes aren't turning red and what you can do about it. You can read it in this article, "Help, my tomatoes aren't turning red !"
What makes a tomato red?
A tomato's beautiful red color is thanks to the pigment lycopene, which the plant produces once the tomato is fully ripe. Along with carotene, lycopene gives the tomato that characteristic color we all look forward to. But the real secret behind tomato color is the gas ethylene.
As soon as the tomato reaches green maturity, the plant begins to release ethylene. This gas initiates the ripening process and causes the tomato to slowly turn red.
Want to give your tomatoes a boost, for example, if you bought them from the supermarket or if they just won't turn brown in your garden? Then the best tip is to place them in a paper bag with a ripe fruit, like a banana. The banana releases extra ethylene, which makes your tomatoes turn red faster. This way, you can even enjoy tomatoes with a beautiful red color indoors, without having to wait for Mother Nature to decide it's time. Whether you have tomatoes from your own garden or from the store, this trick will make them taste just that little bit better!
The most important factor is the variety. What kinds do you have? Most tomato varieties ripen faster or slower depending on temperature, light, and humidity. Smaller varieties like cherry tomatoes or snack tomatoes turn red faster than larger varieties like beefsteak tomatoes (Coeur de Boeuf) .
It goes without saying that "red" isn't always the right term here, because there are also tomatoes that turn yellow, orange, brown, or purple. By red, we actually mean ripe. There are even tomatoes that stay green. You can often tell if a tomato is properly ripe by its color and firmness. By lightly pressing the tomato, you can tell if it's ripe. The variety largely determines how long it takes for a tomato to ripen.
