When to pick tomatoes in open ground and greenhouses

Tomatoes are one of the most popular and widespread vegetable crops grown in greenhouses and open ground. To obtain a rich harvest of large, juicy and tasty tomatoes, you need to take into account not only agrotechnical requirements and growing rules, but also the optimal time for harvesting the fruits. The taste and keeping quality of the collected tomatoes depend on this. A summer resident needs to take into account that the harvest time in a greenhouse and in garden beds is different and has certain nuances.

When to pick different varieties of tomatoes

The harvesting time for tomatoes primarily depends on the variety.

As is known, early-ripening (ripen 60-80 days after germination), mid-ripening (85-105 days) and late-ripening (110-150 days) varieties of vegetable crops are conventionally distinguished.

Accordingly, the timing of harvesting can be approximately calculated. In Central Russia, early ripening tomatoes are harvested from open ground beds in the first ten days of August. Mid-season ones hang a little more. They are removed from the branches in the middle of the last summer month and continue to be removed until mid-September. Late-ripening varieties are ready for harvesting starting from the 20th of August. The fruiting period of these varieties is practically unlimited. There are cases when, in a good year, the collection of tomatoes in the open ground continued until the first days of October. But this, of course, is rather an exception to the rule. Usually the cleaning is completed by the end of September.

In the greenhouse, mature vegetables are harvested earlier as usual due to earlier planting. They finish collecting in open ground later due to the fact that it gets cold in greenhouses a week or two later than in open ground.

Degrees of ripening of tomatoes

Experienced farmers almost never focus on rather approximate ripening dates for vegetables. Instead, attention is paid to the degree of development of the fruit, of which, over the entire period of development, there are several stages.

Did you know? For a long time, tomatoes were used only as exotic ornamental plants, because... were considered poisonous plants.

Unripe tomato gaining weight

This stage of vegetable development is quite easy to recognize - the fruits are much smaller in comparison with the dimensions indicated in the standards for this variety. The berries are dark green in color and firm to the touch. Due to their small size, harvesting such a crop is considered economically unprofitable and therefore, if possible, it is recommended to harvest such fruits as late as possible, waiting until the color of the peel significantly brightens.

Tomato that has reached milky ripeness

This stage of ripeness is characterized by the acquisition of a characteristic whitish hue by the skin of the fruit, which clearly indicates that the tomato is not ready for use. However, when cut, pink flesh appears inside - this is the main indicator of the onset of milk ripeness. Fruits of this stage of development are quite suitable for assembly and ripening in the cellar. Usually, before reaching the stage of full maturity, the fruits need to lie for 14 to 20 days.

Did you know? In botany, tomato fruits are classified as multilocular berries.

Tomato that has reached blanzhesky ripeness

Fruits of this degree of ripeness have an orange or brown skin color. The tomato has almost reached its optimal dimensions, but is still hard and elastic to the touch. Tomatoes at this stage of development can be placed in the cellar, but, unlike milky ripeness, they will need much less time until full ripening - as a rule, a period of 6-7 days will be enough.

Ripe tomato

Tomatoes at this stage have a short shelf life and, most often, are used immediately raw or for preservation. The color of the fruit skin will depend on the variety chosen (in addition to red, there are also yellow, pink or purple varieties). A distinctive feature of a ripe tomato is the characteristic shine of the peel.

Important! Ethylene

—
a substance that is secreted by ripe fruits to accelerate the ripening process and destroys the skin and pulp of nearby fruits.

How to determine the time when to pick tomatoes from the bush

Before you start harvesting tomatoes, you need to determine the stage of maturity. There are 5 of them in total:

Green;
Dairy;
Pale brown (blanzhevye);
Pink;
Reds.

In fact, any tomato can be harvested at one of these stages of maturity. This is true for both greenhouses and open ground.

Red tomatoes can be eaten immediately, pink ones will ripen within a couple of days. But green, milky and bland ones will have to ripen for some time. At the same time, when you collect such tomatoes, those remaining on the bush begin to turn red faster.

Since tomatoes bear fruit unevenly, they are harvested gradually. If you have the opportunity to regularly go to the garden or greenhouse, then you can not pick non-red tomatoes and leave them to turn red on the branches.

If you do not have this opportunity, then it is better to collect blanzhe and pink fruits from the branches in order to ripen them at home, placing them in boxes in a dry and ventilated place with sufficient sunlight.

Rules for collecting tomatoes from the bush

You should start picking tomatoes only in dry and warm weather, preferably early in the morning, before dew appears or when it dries completely.

Basic rules for picking tomatoes from the bush:

Tomatoes need to be picked together with the stalks - they improve the shelf life of the fruit and prevent the development of rot.
The best way to harvest tomatoes is to use garden shears. You need to cut the fruit very carefully, trying not to damage the skin. Any microcrack on the tomato skin can cause the development of a putrefactive process and spoilage of the tomato.
It is most convenient to put picked tomatoes in a box, basket, wide basin or bucket. This must be done carefully so as not to crush the ripe fruits. To do this, it is best to lay the harvested crop in one layer.
Tomatoes ripen gradually, so they are harvested in stages, every 4-6 days. In this case, the remaining green fruits will have time to enter the milky ripeness stage.

If the tomatoes are healthy and have no traces of fungal infections, but were bruised or damaged during picking, do not rush to throw them away. They can be an excellent basis for preparing tomato juice, sauce, adjika and other preparations.

When are tomatoes harvested in different regions?

The harvesting time for tomatoes in open ground and greenhouses varies slightly in different climatic zones of our country. This is due to weather conditions characteristic of different parts of Russia.

Let's figure out when the tomato crop is harvested in our country.

South

In southern greenhouses, harvesting begins in July. Collecting fruits from bushes located in open ground begins in August and continues until mid-autumn.

And in very warm years, even in November, you can collect your own tomatoes in a greenhouse.

Middle lane

In Central Russia, including the Moscow region, they begin to harvest tomatoes in the first week of August, but the main fruiting occurs in the second half of the month.

However, in recent years, due to the warm autumn, it is possible to harvest tomatoes in September and even October both in the open ground and in the greenhouse.

ON A NOTE. But here it is very important to monitor the weather forecast and not let the tomatoes fall under the first autumn frosts.

Ural, Siberia

In the harsh eastern regions of our country, the main period for harvesting tomatoes in greenhouses and open ground is September. But some varieties can bear the first fruits even in August.

What determines the collection time?

There are no exact dates for harvesting tomatoes in greenhouses and in open ground. The right time to pick tomatoes depends on their variety, ripening time, climatic features and weather conditions of a particular region.

Most often, in the regions of central Russia, they start picking tomatoes from the bushes in early or mid-August. In the Urals, Siberia and other northern regions, harvest dates are postponed to the first half of September, since tomatoes are planted in late spring. In the southern regions it is warm in September, so many gardeners leave fruits on the bushes until the beginning of October.

The timing of tomato harvesting depends on the variety:

Early ripening and early - these varieties ripen in 65-90 days. It is recommended to collect the fruits throughout July and in the first days of August, after which the tops quickly fade.
Mid-season - it will take 85-105 days to fully ripen. The harvest begins in the first half of August. In dry and warm weather, this period may last until the end of summer.
Mid-late and late - biological maturity occurs in 105-145 days. Most often, when grown in open soil, such varieties do not have time to fully ripen, so they are removed from the bush at the stage of milky ripeness and sent for ripening.

When determining the timing of harvesting, weather conditions must be taken into account. In the case of a cold and rainy August, tomatoes are often affected by late blight, which significantly reduces the quality and quantity of the harvest and can lead to complete death of the plants. In this case, you should not wait for the biological ripeness of the tomatoes - it is best to pick them green and send them for ripening at home.

In the greenhouse

Greenhouse tomatoes are reliably protected from sudden changes in air temperature and other unfavorable factors, so their fruiting period is much longer than in open ground.

When harvesting tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to take into account the stages of fruit ripeness:

Unripe - such fruits are still gaining weight and do not correspond to the sizes indicated in the varietal characteristics. Tomatoes are dense, with elastic and hard green skin. If you pick tomatoes unripe, they will not be able to become ripe at home, so it is better to leave them on the bush.
Milky ripeness - tomatoes are covered with a whitish or green skin, but when cut you can see pink flesh and formed seeds. At this stage of ripeness, the fruits can be picked for further ripening at home, which will take 15-20 days.
Blazing ripeness - tomatoes are covered with a brown-red skin, indicating beginning ripening. Such fruits are used for home ripening, as they are stored for a long time and tolerate long-term transportation well. For full ripeness of blanzhe tomatoes it will take no more than 7-10 days.
Full biological maturity - it can be determined by its rich red, pink, yellowish-orange color (depending on the variety). Ripe fruits are eaten fresh, used for preparing various dishes, canning and winter preparations.

When picking tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to take into account their varietal characteristics. If early varieties are planted, you can begin harvesting the first harvest in mid-July. Late variety tomatoes are harvested from late July to mid-September.

In the open ground

When determining the timing of tomato harvesting in open ground, you need to focus on weather conditions. In warm and dry summers, tomatoes can be picked from the bush throughout August. In case of cold weather and prolonged rains, do not delay harvesting, as such conditions are favorable for the development of fungal diseases.

In most cases, tomatoes begin to ripen 45-65 days after the flowering phase. But these dates directly depend on weather conditions. In the case of a cloudy and rainy summer, the timing is postponed, since tomatoes require abundant sunlight to ripen quickly.

When to harvest tomatoes in open ground:

when the air temperature drops below +10°C;
when the first signs of late blight and other fungal infections appear;
when the fruits reach sizes corresponding to the varietal characteristics.

In central Russia, tomatoes begin to be harvested from the first days of August. Depending on the variety of vegetable crop, harvesting can last until mid-September, as the fruits ripen gradually.

At the beginning of fruiting, they are removed from the bush every 4-6 days, during the period of maximum yield - daily. In this case, you need to carefully inspect each bush and immediately discard all rotten, damaged fruits, as well as those with traces of damage from insect pests. Such fruits must be thrown away along with the stems, otherwise they can infect healthy tomatoes.

It is very important to harvest all tomatoes before the first frost. Frozen fruits become hard and tasteless, they are unsuitable for consumption.

When to harvest tomatoes in open ground?

Tomato harvesting in open ground begins in early or mid-August and continues until the end of September. The specific period still depends on the weather conditions in the growing region and the varieties planted.

The harvesting time of tomatoes largely depends on the characteristics of the variety, and, therefore, the degree of ripeness of the vegetables, and weather conditions. It is advisable to finish cleaning before the temperature at night begins to drop to +10 degrees. At such low values, tomatoes will quickly begin to get sick and spoil.

What to do after harvesting, how to ripen tomatoes

Harvested green tomatoes can be ripened in various ways. All home ripening methods are easy and simple, so even a novice vegetable grower can use them.

Before ripening, tomatoes need to be prepared - cleaned with a soft cloth to remove any remaining soil and dust. If the fruits are heavily contaminated, they can be rinsed under running water, but after this they must be completely dried and only then sent for ripening.

For proper and uniform ripening of tomatoes, the correct temperature and humidity are very important. The best option is a temperature within +20-25°C and a humidity level of 70-80%.

Classic way of ripening

The easiest and most affordable way to ripen tomatoes is in a dry and warm room with air humidity no higher than 80%. Place the green fruits on a table or other flat surface and cover with a thin cloth on top.

The speed at which tomatoes ripen depends on the lighting. In bright sunlight, tomatoes ripen very quickly, in just 2-4 days. But if exposed to direct rays for too long, the fruits quickly lose their elasticity and juiciness, becoming loose and tasteless.

To speed up ripening, you can use a little trick and place 4-5 ripe red tomatoes, apples or ripe bananas in a box with green tomatoes. These fruits emit ethylene, a special substance that stimulates the ripening of vegetables.

Layer ripening

For long-term storage of tomatoes, many vegetable growers use layer-by-layer ripening of vegetables. To do this, you need to choose a suitable container - it could be a cardboard or wooden box, a large basket or a wide basin. The bottom of the container should be lined with clean paper or newspapers.

Spread the tomatoes evenly in the container in one layer, or if there are a lot of fruits, in two layers. But when laying tomatoes, you need to make sure that the vegetables do not come into contact with each other, otherwise they will begin to deteriorate and rot.

The optimal air temperature for ripening is +12-16°C, the air humidity level should not exceed 75-80%. To protect against rotting and longer storage, sprinkle each layer of tomato with dry sawdust, which will absorb excess moisture.

Ripening on the bushes

Green tomatoes can ripen completely on the bushes. To do this, dig up the tomato bushes along with the root system. Lightly clear the roots of any clumps of earth, attach a cord or thread, and hang the bushes from the ceiling, beam, or other support.

Tomato bushes can be hung for ripening in a barn or other well-ventilated area. Make sure that the roots of the plants do not touch each other. All nutrients from the roots, stems and foliage of the bush will be directed to the fruits, due to which their ripening will accelerate and their size will increase. Reddening fruits need to be picked every 5-7 days as they ripen.

To obtain a generous harvest of tasty and large tomatoes, you need to take into account all the rules and agrotechnical details of their cultivation, as well as the timing of harvesting. Ripe tomatoes are removed for eating and preparing various dishes, green tomatoes are removed for long-term storage and transportation. The exact timing depends on the tomato variety, weather conditions, climatic features of the region and the nuances of growing in a greenhouse and in open ground.

When to harvest tomatoes in a greenhouse

Due to more favorable conditions, tomatoes in a greenhouse ripen much earlier than those grown in open ground.

There is no exact collection date. It all depends on the varieties planted and the weather in a particular year. To summarize, the harvest time in the greenhouse begins around the first days of August for mid-season tomatoes.

Late-ripening varieties of vegetable crops are harvested closer to the beginning of autumn. But again, the timing of planting the vegetable affects a lot. After all, many summer residents specially plant crops in such a way as to be able to collect fruits for as long as possible.

Factors influencing the ripening of tomatoes

The ripening of tomatoes in a greenhouse is influenced by:

Tomato variety. All tomatoes are divided according to varietal into: ultra-early ripening (80-85 days), early ripening (90-95 days), mid-early (100-103 days), mid-ripening (100-115 days), late ripening (120-130 days). Pay attention to the choice of tomato variety. If you planted a late-ripening variety, then you should not expect it to ripen earlier than stated.
Growing conditions. Tomatoes love light, warmth, and moderate moisture. If you do not establish an optimal microclimate, the plants will slow down in growth and development, which means that it will not be possible to achieve rapid maturation. During growth, the air temperature should be +23-25°C, and during fruit set, it should be reduced to +18-20°C. Humidity should be maintained at 60-80% at all times.
Maintaining soil nutrition. Throughout the growing season, tomatoes need to be saturated with nutrients. The formation of large fruits and overall stability are influenced by microelements such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium. If they are deficient, you should not expect rapid plant growth, formation and ripening of tomatoes.
Bush care. The rapid ripening of fruits is facilitated by the removal of the lower, as well as part of the upper leaves.

When is it time to pick tomatoes from the plant for further ripening?

With the onset of autumn, experienced summer residents begin to remove slightly unripe tomatoes from the branches. The logic in such actions is dictated by the need to ripen the remaining fruits on the branches before the temperature begins to drop and prolonged rains begin.

There are several factors that you should focus on when picking tomatoes for further ripening at home:

Temperatures began to drop steadily below +10 at night;
Late blight has appeared on some fruits.

It is also recommended to collect unripe tomatoes in the open ground if you visit your summer cottage from time to time. Tomatoes ripen quickly, and in this case there is a high probability that the tomatoes will become overripe.

In addition, for further ripening in the greenhouse and in the open ground, tomatoes that have reached the stage of milk maturity (that is, turned white) and have grown to the stated size are removed.

Features of tomato harvesting

Greenhouse heating plays a significant role in harvesting. If the gardener has the ability to control the temperature in a given room, then there are no obstacles to the year-round harvesting of ripening fruits.

The presence of a built-in heating system allows the gardener not to depend on the weather when harvesting

If your greenhouse is not equipped with heating and depends on the weather outside, then you should focus on the following tips:

Harvesting begins when the night temperature in the greenhouse approaches zero, and the daytime temperature does not rise above eight degrees;

If you plan to sell tomatoes, you can pick them green on the branch so that they ripen at the same time as each other and are better stored;

Tomatoes on branches ideal for sale

When picking tomatoes for canning, you also don’t have to wait for the moment when they acquire a deep red hue. Green tomatoes can be perfectly preserved and are not inferior to their more mature comrades in taste;

If the time for tomatoes to ripen is already approaching, but external signs indicate the opposite, then you can speed up the ripening process on your own. In order for the fruits to ripen faster, it is necessary to ensure that nutrients begin to flow into the berries faster. Grasping the stem, pull it up and secure it to achieve the desired result. You should dig up the roots carefully so as not to harm the plant. You can also remove leaves with inflorescences, which take away some of the juices.

If tomatoes take a long time to ripen, the gardener can increase the flow of nutrients to the berries

Video - Details of tomato harvesting in a greenhouse

How to store unripe tomatoes

So, let's say that you had to remove unripe tomatoes. Perhaps you had to remove it due to the sharply worsening weather, or perhaps the cleaning is due to the fact that you can only come to the dacha once a week.

Be that as it may, it is important to organize the proper storage of such tomatoes. There are several rules on how to store unripe tomatoes:

Do not wash the tomatoes. You need to carefully clean off any stuck dirt and soil. Can be wiped with a cloth.
Store tomatoes with signs of disease separately so that they do not come into contact with healthy specimens under any circumstances.
The room should be warm and dry. Fruits should not be kept damp.
Tomatoes are stored separately from other vegetables.
Leave a few ripened tomatoes to speed up the ripening of the rest.
Place reddened specimens in the refrigerator, otherwise they will quickly deteriorate.

ON A NOTE. Tomatoes with signs of damage are either thrown away or stored away from the main crop so that the rot does not spread to healthy fruits.

Tomatoes that lie in the sun turn red most quickly. The optimal temperature is from +20 to +28. The warmer it is, the faster the tomatoes will ripen.

It is best to store tomatoes in ordinary cardboard boxes, boxes, etc.

There is also a slower way to blush.

After harvesting, all tomatoes are placed in layers in boxes or boxes. In this case, each layer is sprinkled with dry sawdust or covered with wrapping paper (not newspaper!).

The boxes are placed in a cool (12-15 degrees) room with a relative humidity of 80 percent.

It is important that fresh air constantly flows to the tomatoes.

Ripening tomatoes

Ripening is an integral part of storing tomatoes for many gardeners, as it allows them to extend their shelf life to two and a half months. For comfortable ripening, tomatoes will need the following conditions:

The most important nuance in extending the ripening period is adjusting the temperature in storage. It should not rise above ten to twelve degrees for green-ripe specimens. Ripe tomatoes will need zero temperatures to maintain their quality. It should be remembered that some tomatoes can be susceptible to rotting even at low temperatures;

Fruits of different degrees of ripeness are not recommended to be stored next to each other.

Air humidity when ripening tomatoes should be about 80%. Increasing these values will also result in premature rotting. A decrease will lead to a deterioration in the taste of the fruit - they will become flabby and fleshy;

Tomatoes can ripen both in the light and in the dark. Light will allow the peel to acquire a red tint (or any other existing one), but with prolonged ripening it is unacceptable. When stored in the dark, the fruit is likely to remain greenish;

Tomatoes need air circulation, therefore, in addition to ventilating the storage, it is necessary to place the fruits so that they do not come into contact with each other or with the walls and floor of the cellar. For the same reason, it is strictly forbidden to store tomatoes in bags;

The greater the distance between the fruits, the better they are ventilated.

If your plans include not lengthening, but shortening the ripening process, then you should lay the berries in several layers with the stalks up on the shelves, having previously sorted them by size. It is advisable to place hay between the layers to avoid touching the fruit. The room temperature should be at least twenty-four degrees. Under these conditions, within a week you will get ripe tomatoes;

In addition to laying out in rows, it is allowed to hang tomatoes by roots removed from the soil. In this position, the outflow of nutrients to the fruit is faster, which speeds up ripening and does not threaten rapid rotting. This ripening is carried out in warm, dry rooms.

Sorting is carried out not only based on damage, but also by variety

Important! Before ripening, it is necessary to carefully examine and sort all the tomatoes. Only those fruits that have no signs of mechanical damage, diseases or cracks are allowed for both short-term and long-term storage. During storage, the stalk should be separated only if it comes off easily.

How tomatoes ripen on the bushes

You can speed up the ripening of tomatoes without even removing them from the bush.

First, you can hang banana skins between the tomatoes. It releases ethylene, which accelerates the ripening of tomatoes.

This method is especially effective in a greenhouse, but it can also be used in open ground. Especially if the planting is dense, or if you have several large bushes growing nearby.

Secondly, you can ripen tomatoes on the bushes at home. If cold weather sets in, you need to dig up the tomato bush, shake off the adhering soil from the roots and hang it upside down in a warm and ventilated room.

Is it possible to pick green tomatoes?

The time to remove tomatoes from the bush depends on how exactly the crop will be used. If the fruits are immediately eaten, they are picked at the stage of biological maturity, that is, when they are fully ripe and turn red.

But ripe tomatoes should be used immediately for culinary purposes, since ripe tomatoes are stored for no more than 4-6 days. Tomatoes should not be allowed to become overripe, as their flesh loses its elasticity and becomes tasteless, and the taste deteriorates.

For long-term storage and transportation, it is best to collect green tomatoes - they can fully ripen at home. They can be stored for several weeks, and if kept in a cool room with low air humidity - up to 2.5-3 months.

What happens if you pick tomatoes too early?

Despite the fact that green tomatoes can turn red at home, it is also not recommended to remove them too early. A deep green color indicates that the tomatoes are not yet ready for harvest.

Basically, if you take them off, there is a chance that they will turn a little red at home. There are many recipes with green tomatoes, but if your goal is ripe, juicy tomatoes, then you shouldn’t harvest too early.

Experienced gardeners advise harvesting green tomatoes only when at least a third of the entire crop has turned red.

Late blight

Unfortunately, when growing tomatoes, gardeners often encounter such an unpleasant phenomenon as late blight. It also happens that the disease manifests itself only during storage. Late blight refers to fungal spores that annually infect many bushes with fruits. First, the fungus invades the leaves, which gradually dry out and turn brown. If these primary symptoms are ignored, the disease spreads to the berries, rendering them unusable.

Late blight appears as brown spots penetrating into the fruit

Treatment and prevention

Despite the fact that this disease cannot be treated, it can be contained using the following measures:

Garlic spray. Mushrooms quickly die under the influence of garlic, so this method works flawlessly. In order to make such a composition, you need to mix one and a half glasses of crushed heads of garlic, a couple of grams of potassium permanganate and ten liters of water. The resulting composition is first distributed before the formation of the ovary, the second - ten days later. Further preventive spraying is carried out every two weeks;

Crushed garlic kills fungal pathogens and prevents relapse of the disease

Salt spraying. Please note that the saline solution is not therapeutic, but purely preventive. It creates a protective barrier that prevents infections from entering through the stomata of the plant. Before using the solution, all leaves affected by the fungus must first be removed. The recipe for the composition is very simple - dissolve a glass of table salt in ten liters of water;

The saline solution protects the bush not only from fungus, but also from other infections

Kefir spraying. It is also used as a preventive measure. For the first time, the bushes are treated with this solution no later than two weeks, after the seedlings are planted in the soil. After this, it is advisable to repeat the procedure once a week. It takes two days to prepare the composition, since the kefir must be fermented. Dissolve a liter of fermented kefir in ten liters of water and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps.

Fermented kefir enhances its effect compared to fresh

Gardening Tips and Tricks

Each summer resident has his own tricks for collecting tomatoes in the open ground and in the greenhouse.

Harvesting unripe tomatoes and ripening them on the windowsill. This is done if there are a lot of tomatoes, but it is not possible to harvest the crop every day.
Tomatoes are harvested on average every 3-4 days so that there is a supply of ripe fruits, but at the same time, they do not become overripe.
Tomatoes are harvested in the morning or evening in dry weather.
It is believed that in the second half of August the risk of late blight infection increases, so they try to harvest the bulk of the crop before August 15.
The latest tomatoes are harvested when they are blanc or even green.
When ripening tomatoes at home, it is recommended to cover them with a cloth.

Stages of maturation

The purpose of the harvest determines at what degree of maturity the fruits should be harvested; for example, tomatoes ripened on the bushes can be used for food, and ripened ones are suitable for harvesting and consumption in late autumn.

Categories of fruit ripeness and application options

Degree of maturation	Signs	Ripening time, application
Unripe	Very dense, elastic.	Cannot be collected as it gains weight and grows.
Dairy	The skin is light green with a whitish tint, the flesh is pink (yellow) when cut.	Ripens in 3-4 weeks and is stored for a long time.
Blanzhevaya	The skin takes on a brown (yellowish) tint.	Ripens in 7-10 days, can be stored.
Full	Rich color in accordance with the variety.	Consumption for food, preparations, not stored.

Common mistakes

In principle, there is no difficulty in harvesting tomatoes, but some mistakes are still possible. They are mainly due to inexperience.

There is no need to remove completely green tomatoes. The most delicious are those that ripen directly in the garden in the open ground or in a greenhouse.
Do not place diseased specimens nearby, and also promptly throw away rotten ones so that they do not re-infect others.
Do not leave tomatoes to turn red in a damp room.
Harvest at least once every three days. If you notice signs of late blight on the bushes, collect them more often.

Why do they do it and is it necessary at all?

Tomatoes are very afraid of rot. Because of this, gardeners are forced to take extra care of them during the growth period: eliminate stepchildren, remove wilted leaves. While you are doing all this and you don’t notice how autumn is in the yard, it’s time to harvest. This also has its difficulties.

If you don't do this on time, you can lose most of the harvest. Tomato is a fastidious, delicate plant that does not tolerate mistakes in care. Therefore, it will easily rot right on the branch, without even turning red.

There is only one way out: collect unripe tomatoes.

Green tomatoes are not only possible to collect, but also necessary. Especially if the region does not have a comfortable climate in summer. The further north you go, the more advisable it is to harvest just such tomatoes. They will definitely ripen, but not in a greenhouse, but at home, in optimal conditions.

Green tomatoes are harvested in only two cases:

at low temperatures at night. If it drops below 8ºC, then this is a sure sign that it is time;
if diseases have started in the greenhouse due to unfavorable weather conditions or improper care. In this case, there will be only one way out - quickly collect what has grown and get rid of the remains.

Caring for tomatoes during fruit ripening

To ripen a tomato in a greenhouse, it is necessary to remove irregularly shaped fruits from the bushes, and direct those that grow low towards the sun, picking off the withered leaves. Pinching and pinching have a very good effect on the growth of tomatoes. Plants often branch, intertwine, and many shoots arise, where the bush’s strength goes.

Caring for tomatoes also includes the following methods to help ripen:

Ventilation of the greenhouse.
Cover the body with lime or lay down a white cloth.
Make clamps on the stems, first cutting them 10 cm from the ground.
Place plastic bags cut at the bottom on immature brushes; the temperature in the cap will be higher.
Once a week, smoke the greenhouses with a tobacco smoke bomb. They help fight pests and also release carbon dioxide after combustion, which promotes photosynthesis.

Feeding tomatoes in a greenhouse during ripening

Greenhouse tomatoes are acutely lacking nutrients; they often need good feeding to ripen. And not only during the formation of the ovary, but during fruiting. Fertilizer for ripening tomatoes can be used at your discretion: iodine, ash, yeast, nitrophoska or superphosphate with sodium humate.

On the ashes
. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of ash in 5 liters of boiling water, cool, dilute to 10 liters. Pour in a bottle of iodine and 10 g of boric acid, leave for a day. Dilute again 1 to 10, water at a rate of one liter per bush.
By leaps and bounds
. Dilute 100 g of yeast, 5 tbsp in 10 liters of water. spoons of sugar, 1 glass of wood ash, 0.5 liters of fermented chicken manure. Leave in a warm place for a day. Dilute again 1 to 10, water 1 liter per bush. Carry out the procedure no more than once a month.

Watering tomatoes during ripening in a greenhouse

Watering tomatoes during fruit ripening is also very important. At the same time, you need to monitor the humidity in the greenhouse; if there is too much of it, the plant gets sick, and the yield drops significantly. After each watering, the room must be ventilated. And water only with settled water and strictly at the root. The tomato variety also plays an important role.

In order for tomatoes to ripen quickly, watering must be correct:

Low growing varieties
. When they ripen, they are given watering less often, and a month before harvesting they stop.
Tall varieties
. When ripe, they need to be watered once every 4 days; each bush requires up to 10 liters of water.

A product for accelerating the ripening of tomatoes in a greenhouse

Various preparations have been developed to accelerate the ripening of tomatoes. It is best to make special mixtures. The principle of operation is the same: they burn the foliage, and the roots devote their energy to feeding the fruits, not the leaves. You need to spray the bushes generously until the liquid begins to drain from the leaves. After 3 days, the leaves will fall off, and within a week the tomatoes will turn red.

The most popular solutions:

Dilute 2 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate or nitrophoska with 1 teaspoon of sodium humate in 10 ml of water. The calculation is 5 liters per square.
Dissolve 2 matchboxes of urea in 5 liters of water.
Dilute 35 drops of iodine in 10 liters of water.
Pour 2 tbsp into a bucket of warm water. spoons of superphosphate, leave for 2 days.

Varieties recommended for greenhouses

To get a good harvest, you need to select tomato varieties for the greenhouse that are suitable for closed ground. In addition to the color, shape of the fruit and size of the plants, you should pay attention to the following features:

Tomato ripening time;
Taste, juiciness, sweetness of fruit pulp;
What are the fruits for?
Productivity of a hybrid or variety;
Ability to self-pollinate;
Will tomato varieties for a polycarbonate greenhouse be able to withstand temperature and humidity;
Immunity to tomato diseases;
Resistant to changes in humidity and temperature.

Classification of varieties

All varieties of tomatoes will be able to grow in the greenhouse, but taking into account the classification by growth, it will be possible to better manage the planting area of the greenhouse.

Tomatoes are divided into tall, medium-sized, indeterminate, that is, unlimited growth, large-fruited, raceme, cherry.

Tomatoes are also divided according to ripening time. There are super-early, early, mid-early, and late varieties.

What is better for a greenhouse: variety or hybrid?

When choosing between a variety and a hybrid, you need to take into account that, due to their unpretentiousness, varieties react less to deviations from the rules of agricultural technology and produce a harvest even with insufficient care. They should also be given preference if you plan to independently harvest seeds.

In turn, hybrids are characterized by the highest yield and quality indicators, but require careful care. In addition, the seeds of these tomatoes are absolutely not suitable for sowing.

It is worth choosing seed material taking into account your needs. Alternatively, representatives of both groups can be grown in a greenhouse.

High-yielding varieties

All gardeners are primarily interested in the most productive varieties of tomatoes.

These include the Miracle of the Earth variety, bred by a scientist from Novosibirsk. The variety is very hardy, so it can be grown in all regions of the country. The plant is tall, reaching a height of up to 2 meters.

Such tall varieties of tomatoes produce large, fleshy fruits. One fruit can weigh on average 400 grams, and some reach a weight of 1 kg. From 1 sq. meter you can harvest 15-19 kg of tomatoes.

The taste of the tomato is reminiscent of watermelon, so it is used to make juice, sauces, and is suitable for salads. It does not ripen immediately, so delicious fruits will be on your table until autumn.

Gardeners prefer to grow super-yielding varieties. These include “Mikado pink”. It is becoming the favorite among gardeners. The pink fleshy fruits are surprising, weighing up to 400-500 grams, but you can also get kilogram specimens. A productive variety can produce up to 8-10 kg from one bush.

Hurricane is an early ripening hybrid. From 1 sq. meter you can collect 11-14 kg of delicious fruits. Tomatoes are good because they can sit for a long time without spoiling. They can be transported over long distances.

Large-fruited tomato varieties

Small and medium-sized tomatoes are good for pickling, but you still want to grow large specimens at the dacha.

To grow large tomatoes, you should pay attention to the largest-fruited hybrids:

Ural F1,
Cavalcade F1,
Krasnobay F1,
Luxor F1,
Cardinal F1,
Elite F1,
Russian size F1.

But the largest is considered the “Heavyweight of Siberia”. The bush is not tall, only 80 centimeters, but it ripens beautiful, elongated, rounded fruits of a rich crimson color. The average weight of one fruit is 400-500 g.

Cherry

Many vegetable growers are partial to small, juicy cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomato varieties for greenhouses delight with their diversity. You can choose cherry Dessert, which can grow up to 2 meters in height and stand strewn with red tomatoes for a long time. High-yielding variety, from 1 sq. meter you can collect up to 8 kg of sweet fruits.

Hybrid Madeira F1 bears fruit for a long time, the fruits are collected in clusters. Small tomatoes appear very early, 80 days after planting.

Fruitful early hybrids: Ira F1, Magic Harp F1 - with yellow fruits, are also in great demand among gardeners.

"Thumbelina" is loved for its productivity, resistance to diseases and the sweetish taste of its small fruits.

Liana

The vine varieties of tomatoes for the greenhouse are all tall. African pink vine and heart-shaped red vine are in great demand.

When the vegetables are ripe, the vine looks very beautiful, dotted with deep pink tomatoes. Weight up to 350 g, fleshy, almost without seeds and juice. The pulp is grainy. The taste is sweet, pleasant to eat fresh.

Dutch tomatoes

Dutch varieties of tomatoes are increasingly beginning to appear in the gardens of summer residents. Hybrids are valued for their resistance to diseases, self-pollination, and high productivity.

The selection of Dutch specialists is aimed at increasing shelf life and transportability, but the fruits are inferior to domestic hybrids in terms of taste quality. To achieve a pleasant taste, gardeners try to let them ripen on the bushes.

Tomatoes for greenhouses of Dutch selection:

Ivanhoe,
Afen,
Belle,
Benito,
Big Beef,
Debut,
Diadem,
Marfa,
tomato with yellow fruits - Lemon boy.

Plum-shaped

High-yielding varieties of tomatoes in the form of plums are a must for every gardener. They are valued because they are suitable for pickling for the winter. Typically, plum tomato bushes grow up to 2 meters in height and are completely covered with tomatoes.

They ripen later than others, so they are used for canning separately or together with other vegetables. Gives tasty fruits

Honey cream,
Prunes,
Angelica,
Moskvich,
Countryman,
Picket.

There is yellow cream that will decorate any greenhouse:

Ildi,
golden lemon
Monisto amber.

Yellow tomatoes are more delicate in taste, so they are most often eaten fresh.

Storage

Storage of harvested tomatoes differs depending on their degree of ripeness.

Fully ripened tomatoes are the most difficult to preserve, but they are usually picked for immediate consumption. In addition, they can be canned, made into vegetable preparations, and turned into sauces. It is impossible to store them for more than a week, so if you do not intend to use them in a short time, try to harvest while the tomatoes are at the stage of milky ripeness. They can be stored in a cool, dark place for gradual ripening.

To speed up the reddening process of tomatoes, keep them in a warmer place. For slow ripening, on the contrary, try to keep it cool. . .

Harvesting tomatoes in a greenhouse (video)

The collected fruits must be stored after ripening. It is this process that allows you to preserve tomatoes for as long as possible, and the gardener will be able to boast of having independently grown, juicy home-grown tomatoes on the New Year’s table.

In order not to lose the material, be sure to save it to your social network VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Facebook by simply clicking on the button below:

Growing tomatoes in greenhouses has significant advantages over growing them in open ground. The greenhouse is most useful for gardeners in the northern regions of Russia, who do not have the opportunity to keep fruits until they are fully ripe on unprotected soil. The greenhouse allows vegetables to complete their development unhindered, despite unfavorable weather. Since each variety has its own ripening time, it is impossible to definitively answer the question of when to harvest tomatoes in a greenhouse. However, you can, based on external signs, determine the degree of readiness of the fruit with your own hands.

By fruit color

Many gardeners try to grow tomatoes in greenhouses in all the colors that breeders have invented. The salad looks great with yellow, red, pink and black tomatoes.

Pink

There are more and more lovers of pink tomatoes for greenhouses among gardeners.

Pink honey is a medium-ripe variety that grows to a height of only 1 meter, but is densely overgrown with pink, sweet, fleshy fruits weighing up to 1 kg. The fruits are so large that you can make a salad from one tomato. The variety produces high yields; up to 6-7 kg are harvested from 1 bush. The fruits are slightly ribbed and heart-shaped. Among the pink varieties, they are the sweetest.

Dad . When choosing sweet varieties of tomatoes for greenhouses, pay attention to the early-ripening, high-yielding variety Batyanya. The weight of one fruit can reach 700 grams. 9 kg of tomatoes are harvested from 1 bush. The sweetish fruits have juicy, fleshy pulp, without white veins. The peel is thick crimson, glossy. Everyone who imprisons Batyanya has never regretted it.

Reds

There are a lot of red varieties; gardeners distinguish:

Azores Red Bride . The bushes grow up to 2 meters. Large, fleshy fruits up to 800 grams ripen on them.
Scarlet flower is a high-yielding variety. The fruit color is red or pinkish. The pulp is juicy, tasty, sweet, sugary. The weight of one tomato can reach 700 grams. Resistant to diseases.
Altai honey is a mid-season variety that reaches a height of 1.7 meters. Up to 6 kilograms of tomatoes are harvested from one plant. The fruits are heart-shaped, weighing up to 350-600 grams. The peel is red-pink, the flesh is fleshy, sugary with a honey flavor.

Yellow and orange

Orange and yellow tomatoes for the greenhouse are a real find. They are very tender and tasty, for example:

Variety Midas . This is the earliest variety. Already 45 days after planting the seedlings, you can pick the first orange fruit. It can be stored for more than a month without losing its beautiful appearance.
Orange Heart is a mid-season variety that can grow above 2 meters in height. 6-10 kg of tomatoes weighing up to 300 grams are harvested from the bush. The pulp has a small number of seeds, fleshy, sour-sweet, with a slight fruity flavor. Tomatoes can last until November.
Citrus garden - yellow tomatoes, shaped like lemons, which is why they got this name. Sweet, tasty, just begging to be put into your mouth.

Black and purple varieties

Exotic lovers will definitely grow varieties of black tomatoes for the greenhouse. In addition to their exotic appearance, black tomatoes are rich in anthocyanins.

Black or purple fruits are known to improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, reduce the risk of stroke, and are very beneficial for men's health. They are also useful for older people, as they improve memory.

Among the black varieties, the most favorite are:

Dagestan,
Evening,
My favorit,
Chocolate,
Black Russian.

Purple tomatoes are also useful for the greenhouse:

blue tomato,
Blueberry,
Lilac Lake,
Chernomor.

Why do you need to clean the greenhouse in the fall?

What does a complete list of autumn work in the greenhouse include?
There are not as many points as it seems, but there really is a lot of work to be done. Autumn work in the greenhouse is:

clearing the area of debris;
thorough washing of the entire structure;
greenhouse disinfection;
soil fertilization;
preparation for the winter period.

The list, as we see, includes several stages, and each of them must be completed. The fact is that only a well-maintained, cared-for greenhouse that is thoroughly cleaned of pests will delight you with a rich harvest every year. If you don’t take care of the structure and don’t worry about its cleanliness, then after a couple of years, even in a favorable region where frequent epidemics of plant diseases are not observed, parasites and pathogens can appear in the greenhouse. Soon they will multiply and fill the entire structure, damaging and destroying the plants living in it.

Autumn preparation of the greenhouse is a very important stage

So, to summarize, the greenhouse needs to be prepared in the fall because:

in this case, in the spring it will not require preparatory work;
during the autumn disinfection in the greenhouse, all parasites that managed to settle in it over the summer will be destroyed;
the quality of the soil can be significantly improved by fertilizing it;
when there are no more plants in the greenhouse, you can calmly fight various pests without fear for the harvest;
the greenhouse will last much longer if you take care of it;
Proper preparation will ensure a quiet winter for both the structure itself and you (you won’t have to worry that it will fall due to weather conditions).

Proper autumn preparation of the greenhouse will extend its service life

Now we will consider each stage of autumn preparation step by step.

Ripening time

How long it takes from germination to harvest and how long the plant grows depends on the tomato variety. In addition, ripening depends on how many ovaries the plant has formed, as well as on inherent “genetic factors,” environmental factors, and growing methods. The rate of ripening of greenhouse tomatoes varies greatly and depending on how much time is required for this process, all varieties of this vegetable crop can be combined into subgroups.

Hybrid tomatoes. They are designated F1. They are characterized by a high ripening speed and produce the earliest possible harvest. The most popular hybrids, most of which grow well in a greenhouse, are represented by the varieties “Typhoon”, “Verlioka”, “Semko” and “Druzhok”.

Greenhouse varieties. The collection of varietal tomatoes in the greenhouse occurs a little later. The earliest harvesting involves the use of early-ripening and ultra-early-ripening varieties. The most successful ones include “Hurricane”, “Yantarny”, “Samara”, “Junior” and “Joy of Summer”.

The earliest harvest of ripe fruits is typical for determinate varieties of tomatoes, while indeterminate varieties form ripe fruits a little later. Hybrid tomatoes ripen slightly earlier than varietal representatives. You can pick ripe fruits almost a month earlier.

Hybrid tomatoes are characterized by a high ripening speed and produce the earliest possible harvest