tomatoes not ripening

[mama1803]

I am a newbie gardener this year. I have 4 tomato plants, all different varieties, that have tons of flowers. One of the plants has had a couple of full size tomatoes for 2 weeks now and they haven't ripened at all. One of the tomatoes is beginning to decay on the bottom.

The garden gets full sun for 8+ hours a day and regular watering. Any ideas as to what is going on? My cucumbers are coming in well and I'm getting anxious for a tomato/cucumber salad!

[root*children]

I would call your county extension agency on that one. Good luck - sounds frustrating!!

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by mama1803

I am a newbie gardener this year. I have 4 tomato plants, all different varieties, that have tons of flowers. One of the plants has had a couple of full size tomatoes for 2 weeks now and they haven't ripened at all. One of the tomatoes is beginning to decay on the bottom.

The garden gets full sun for 8+ hours a day and regular watering. Any ideas as to what is going on? My cucumbers are coming in well and I'm getting anxious for a tomato/cucumber salad!

When were the tomatoes planted? It's normal for there to be what seems like a neverending delay between the fruit sizing up and then changing color. The very earliest varieties ripen about two months from transplanting into the garden (longer if it has been cloudy/cool), and some varieties take more like three months to ripen. It seems especially slow if you have ripe cilantro and jalapenos for salsa, or cucumbers for salad.

Is the bottom of the tomato turning black? Blossom end rot is a common problem, especially with the first tomatoes of the season. It's a problem of calcium deficiency (which causes some people to reach for high calcium soil ammendments to try to fix it) but it doesn't really mean the soil is lacking in calcium. The plant has trouble getting calcium to the tomatoes if your watering is uneven. Mulch (to conserve moisture) and adequate drainage (to keep the plants from sitting in a puddle after a rainstorm) can help. OFten it just happens to the first few tomatoes of the season and then things work their way out on their own, though. http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...to_BlossRt.htm

[JamieCatheryn]

My first ones always take forever too, that part is normal, though the decay is not. Bone meal and eggshells will help prevent that blossom end rot issue, plus even watering (which will also prevent the tomato skin splitting). On healthy tomatoes if you can't wait, as soon as the tomatoes go from green to yellowish white you can take them inside and put them in a paper bag to ripen, but you lose flavor that way. Or you can make fried green tomatoes, or tomato relish.

[mama1803]

Thanks for all the info. I think it is definitely blossom end rot. We were out of town for 4 days, during which time the forecast was for rain each day. Our neighbor told us when we returned that it hadn't rained at all while we were gone, so that explains the period of drought because before that time the plants received consistent watering. My mom had also suggested the bone meal, but I had heard somewhere that bonemeal was not advisable in areas with lots of wildlife because the smell would attract them. We already have lots of rabbits and deer that routinely get into our yard (and seem to really like my eggplant!). Any idea if this is true about the bonemeal? Is there anything other than bonemeal or eggshells that would work?

Thanks again!

[lunarlady]

Bonemeal attracts preditors and omnivores like foxes, mice, cats, and some birds. Rabbits and deer don't care if something died or bleeds in your garden. But some people don't like the rats/etc. that bonemeal or eggshells can bring. You can go non-organic and just put some miricle grow or similar fertilizer on the plants. Just check the label to see if there is calcium in there. FWIW, you can also just cut the bad part off and eat the rest.

Tomatoes will actually ripen more when slightly stressed, but I wouldn't reccomend stressing your plants this early in the season. But late in the season, when it is just a few weeks before frost, you can stop or cut back on watering to help the fruits ripen faster.

[LeahBoo]

Is it hot where you are? Tomatoes won't ripen if it is over 85 - 90 degrees. I found this out just last year after years of wondering why my tomatoes stayed green forever, then ripened all at once. They were waiting for it to cool.

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by LeahBoo

Is it hot where you are? Tomatoes won't ripen if it is over 85 - 90 degrees. I found this out just last year after years of wondering why my tomatoes stayed green forever, then ripened all at once. They were waiting for it to cool.

Yes, it has been much warmer here over the last 2-3 weeks than the normal for this time of year. A few days we even got over 100, the heat has been brutal.
We're forecast for a few days of cooler weather (high temps in the 70s), so hopefully I'll have some tomatoes soon!

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by mama1803

Yes, it has been much warmer here over the last 2-3 weeks than the normal for this time of year. A few days we even got over 100, the heat has been brutal.
We're forecast for a few days of cooler weather (high temps in the 70s), so hopefully I'll have some tomatoes soon!

The way this works is that long periods of temperatures above 85 will stall the ripening process. It really depends on your climate, but where I live I have no problem with tomatoes ripening on 100 degree days because I live where there's a big fluctuation between night and day temperatures. Today, for instance, the forecast calls for a high of 91 degrees. Sounds bad for tomatoes, right? Except only about 6 hours of the day will be over 85. The tomatoes can ripen for 18 hours of the day.