Tomatoes do not turn red: reasons, tips

What prevents tomatoes from turning red in a greenhouse?

The main reasons for insufficient redness can be listed.

There is not enough light.
Using spacers, turn the branches towards the sun and secure them in this position.
Thickened plantings.
The leaves and fruits are located closely to each other. It is necessary to remove some of the foliage from plants, freeing up space. Remember, when planting, you need to maintain a distance of at least 30 or 40 centimeters between the rows.
The fruits are large and no redness is expected.

Then it is better to resort to certain feedings.

The best ways to speed up the ripening of tomatoes

To speed up the ripening period of tomatoes, two types of methods are used - agrotechnical and chemical. In the first case, fruits and leaves are treated using folk remedies and agricultural techniques, in the second - with chemicals.

More sunshine

To provide the fruits with more sunlight, it is enough to cut off the excess leaves that create shadows on the tomatoes. Additionally, do the following:

Place supports under the brushes, which are located at the very bottom.
Turn the vines with unripe tomatoes towards the sunny side.
Secure with soft rope.

Thanks to this manipulation, the fruits will be further from the ground surface, so they will not become hypothermic at night.

Covering plantings with film

In August-September the nights become too cold for tomatoes. The contrast between temperatures causes cool dew to form in the morning, further aggravating the situation. Therefore, create a shelter from thick polyethylene every evening.

To avoid damaging the bushes, make an arch of metal arches, onto which you stretch the film.

Collection of brown fruits

Nightshade crops ripen well when picked, so sometimes gardeners pick them brown or even green, but this needs to be done early in the morning so that the fruits have not yet warmed up. Ripening is carried out under the following conditions:

providing light - place the tomatoes in a lighted place, thanks to which they will ripen quickly (a mandatory requirement is to turn them over periodically);
store tomatoes in the dark, so they turn red slowly, but as evenly as possible;
for slow ripening it is enough to create a temperature of 9-11°C, for rapid ripeness - from 20 to 25°C.

Artificial stress with a through cut at the base of the trunk

A stressful situation for plants occurs when nutrition is limited, which leads to disruption of the movement of sap along the trunks. How to do it right:

Prepare a sharp knife - treat with alcohol or manganese solution, which will prevent infection.
Take the main stem with your fingers and, at a height of 10-12 cm, make a through and necessarily longitudinal cut to a length of 3 cm.
Insert a wood chip (toothpick) into the cut. Ideal parameters are 2x0.5 cm (length x width).

This event leads to partial rupture of plant tissue, but does not completely block sap flow. This type of stress causes all energy to be directed toward accelerating fruit ripening.

Pulling a plant out of the ground

This method also leads to some stress, but in the root system. The trick is based on the fact that the roots are torn. This stops the transport of nutrients to the root and directs them to the tomatoes. How to pull out correctly:

Grasp the base of the trunk with your hand.
Pull it gradually out of the ground.
As soon as you hear a crunch in the roots, stop and let go of the bush.

Reducing watering and eliminating nitrogen fertilizing

When temperature changes, guttation always occurs - in the early morning moisture forms on the plant, that is, the bush seems to cry, getting rid of excess water. Because of this, the ripening process stops. If you reduce the amount of watering, then all the plant’s energy will go towards ripening.

It is also very important to avoid fertilizing with nitrogen, as it promotes the growth of green mass, which is why the fruits stop filling.

Removing stepsons and lower foliage

All gardeners know that with increased branching of the bush, the fruits ripen longer, so in late July-early August it is necessary to remove the stepsons and lower leaves so that they do not drain all the strength of the plant.

In unformed bushes, metabolism slows down, which is why diseases such as blossom end rot and late blight occur.

What do we have to do:

trim all foliage and shoots down to the top flower clusters;
cut the branches so that only stumps remain;
Disinfect garden tools.

Stimulation with ripe fruits

Ripe vegetables release the phytohormone ethylene, which accelerates the ripening of their green “brothers,” so it is enough to place ripe tomatoes next to brown ones. How to do it correctly:

Take a plastic bag.
Place a bunch of green tomatoes and 1-2 red fruits in it.
Tie the bag lightly and leave it in the garden.
Keep the tomatoes together for 3-4 days. This time is enough to quickly accelerate ripening.

Treatment with iodine solution

Iodine stimulates the ripening of fruits, so gardeners recommend spraying foliage and tomatoes with iodine solution, but no more than 2 times. How to prepare the liquid:

Take 10 liters of water.
Bring it to room temperature.
Pour in 30 drops of iodine.
Mix thoroughly.

To avoid burns, treat the bush in the late evening or in cloudy weather.

Banana peel in a plastic bag

Banana peels significantly speed up the ripening of tomatoes. To do this, just put a bunch of brown tomatoes and banana peels in a plastic bag for 2 days, then remove the bag and throw away the peels.

Wire tightening

This is another way to cause stress in the plant, based on reducing the amount of nutrients reaching the roots. What should be done:

Measure 3 cm from the base of the stem.
Wrap the trunk with soft wire so that it does not cut into the plant too much.

After a few days, the tomatoes will begin to turn red.

Watering with special solutions and fertilizing to accelerate ripening

You can speed up the ripening of tomatoes with special products and fertilizers. What to use:

Magnesium sulfate. For 10 liters of water, take 2 tsp. preparation, spray the bush along with the fruits.
Ash. Add 200 g of wood ash to 10 liters of water and leave for 3 hours. Before fertilizing, be sure to moisten the soil, which will prevent burns. Pour 1 liter of ash solution under each bush.
Superphosphate. Take 2 tbsp. l. drug, add to 2 liters of water. Leave for 24 hours, after which mix the concentrated solution with 10 liters of warm water. Spray.
Potassium humate. For 10 liters of water, take from 50 to 100 ml of liquid product. For 1 sq. m, apply 5-7 liters under each bush. Spray the plants additionally.

Fertilize once every 9-10 days.

Topping

To avoid fasciation, in which the fruits grow in a distorted shape, pinching should be done in the last days of July. To do this, remove all small fruits, inflorescences, ovaries, since they still will not have time to ripen, but will draw out all the nutrients.

Late-ripening varieties need to remove the tops. All the lashes are removed, except for 6-8 pieces.

Fruit piercing

The method works on the same principle as a through cut. But in this case, you need to make up to 4 longitudinal punctures in the area of the stalk with a needle or toothpick. The holes must be through.

The effect of accelerating ripening is achieved in another way - slightly break the branch with a bunch of brown tomatoes.

Chemical methods

The methods are based on the use of special chemicals and alcohol. There are several options:

Alcohol stimulation. High-quality vodka (40%) is used. The procedure is carried out when the size of the tomatoes reaches its peak, but is still in green or brown ripeness. To do this, you need to inject 0.5 ml of vodka into each tomato (the stalk area) using a syringe. Ethylene promotes accelerated ripening of brown tomatoes within 3-5 days.
Ethanol. It is used in the same way as vodka, but works better in a green state. After administration, it takes about 10 days until the tomatoes turn red.
Ripener. This is a special alcohol-based drug. Most often they are produced by Agromix and Orton, but there are also other manufacturers. Use strictly according to the attached instructions.

Emergency ripening measures

Many summer residents accelerate the ripening of tomatoes artificially - they take them out of the ground and place the plucked bushes indoors. The main goal of this method is to block the supply of nutrients.

The event is suitable for the autumn season, when there is no longer any hope for the traditional ripening of fruits on the bushes.

How the procedure is carried out:

Dig up the tomato bushes.
Shake any remaining soil off the roots.
Hang the plants in a dry and warm room so that the root system is at the top and the fruits “look” down.

Place the bushes so that there is a distance of at least 10 cm between them.

What to pour on tomatoes to make them turn red

Weak solution of potassium permanganate

After watering with the solution, the tomatoes will begin to turn red in almost a week.

Piercing

From experience we know that if the fruits are cracked or damaged, they ripen much faster. Let's give ourselves pleasure and exert mechanical pressure on them using a wooden toothpick. You need to make a couple of punctures next to the fruit stem.

Stimulate maturation with mature brethren

Ethylene will speed up the ripening of tomatoes. Place a well-ripened tomato (or a ripe apple) in a plastic bag and place a bunch of plants in it. After two or three days, remove the bags. Thus, brothers influence each other and help solve the problem. With a large number of green fruits, there is no point in implementing this method.

Trimming and deleting

In early September, pinch the tops of the bushes and cut off the inflorescences. They will not have time to ripen, and will take away the strength that is necessary for the ripeness of tomatoes.

Alcohol make-up

Speed up ripening with vodka; it will not change the taste or chemical composition, but after two weeks the tomatoes will turn red. To do this, inject 0.5 ml of alcohol into the unripe fruit with a syringe.

Pick off the leaves

Promptly remove leaves that no longer benefit the plant.

How to make tomatoes turn red on the bushes

Method number 1 - removing leaves

If the cold weather begins, the tomatoes have faded, but the fruits still cannot ripen - remove all the leaves from the bushes. After such stress, plants will begin to intensively release ethylene, which leads to accelerated ripening of tomatoes.

Attention! Leave one red fruit on the bushes. Since ethylene is a volatile gas, it will begin to affect the rest of the fruit from a ripened tomato.

Method number 2 - pinching the tops

A month before harvesting, the tops must be removed. If you haven't done this, be sure to do this procedure now. As a result, the speed of fruit filling will increase, and soon the tomatoes will begin to turn red.

Attention! To speed up the ripening of tomatoes in the greenhouse and in the ground, it is necessary to completely stop feeding and reduce watering to a minimum. It is recommended to water tomatoes during fruit ripening in warm weather no more than once every 7-10 days and only to prevent the bushes from drying out.

Method number 3 - root lifting

An old fashioned method for speeding up the ripening of tomatoes:

take the tomato bush by the stem at the bottom and carefully pull it towards you;
The roots should be slightly torn.

You will be interested to know: When in January 2022 and what tomatoes to plant for seedlings: favorable days and a list of varieties for early planting

It is recommended to completely pull out tomato bushes in open ground when temperatures drop and nights become cold. The plants are hung vertically in a barn or dressing room, where the fruits will ripen.

Method No. 4 - splitting the stems

To stimulate the ripening of tomatoes on the bushes, you can use a proven old method - splitting the stems. The procedure technology is very simple:

Having retreated 10 cm from the ground, an incision is made along the stem using a sharp knife.
A small stick or twig is inserted into the resulting hole.

After the stems split, less nutrients are supplied and the bushes “throw all their energy into preserving their offspring.” That is, after such stress, the tomatoes begin to ripen and turn red.

Method No. 5 - breaking the petioles

What can I do to make the tomatoes on my hand turn red? If you see that the fruit on the cluster is good, but still cannot begin to ripen, pinch the petiole. That is, the branch near the stem needs to be bent to reduce the supply of food. In this case, you will have to choose whether to speed up the ripening of tomatoes or wait for their further increase.

Method No. 6 – fruit damage

Perhaps you have noticed that damaged apples or other fruits ripen faster. Tomatoes will quickly begin to turn red if two or three punctures are made on them near the stalk with a toothpick.

Proper watering during tomato ripening

During the ripening period, watering tomato beds can be reduced. The specific moisture regime depends on the varietal characteristics.

So, low-growing specimens can be stopped watering altogether in 3-4 weeks. But for tall tomatoes, watering needs to be reduced. You need to carry out the procedure twice a week (or even less often), but pour a little more water than usual.

Main causes of the problem

As practice shows, the reasons for the slow ripening of tomatoes are:

Uncomfortable ambient temperature . For this reason, problems with fruit ripening are most often observed. At temperatures below +15° C and above +35° C, the synthesis of lycopene, a carotenoid pigment responsible for the red color of fruits, stops in tomatoes. If there is a deficiency of this component, already formed fruits remain green for a long time.
Overloading bushes with fruits . When forming bushes, beginning vegetable growers make a typical mistake, leaving extra side shoots on the plant. As a result, tomato bushes form a large number of ovaries, but cannot provide the filling fruits with the necessary nutrition. Experiencing a lack of nutrients, tomatoes ripen longer than they should.
Insufficient lighting . Also a very common reason for long fruit ripening. Low illumination can be observed in cloudy weather or when the bushes are planted too densely, when only small fruits in the upper part of the plant ripen well, and the lower, large ones, at best, only have time to turn brown.
Eating disorder . The speed of tomato ripening also depends on the quality and quantity of fertilizing received. For example, when there is an excess of nitrogen fertilizers, the bushes become fattened, spending all their vital power on growing greenery. As a result, the plants simply have no strength left to ripen the fruits, and the lush foliage covers them from sunlight.

You should take decisive action and start helping “lazy” tomatoes by first paying attention to the factors mentioned above.

How to speed up the ripening of tomatoes in a greenhouse?

Accelerating the ripening of tomatoes in greenhouse conditions is completely identical to how this is done in open ground. But in order for tomatoes to ripen faster in a greenhouse, adhere to the following rules:

pinch the tops, carry out pinching;
monitor the temperature, it should be within +23-25°C, if the temperature is higher or lower, all vital processes will stop;
turn on artificial lighting so that daylight hours are at least 10-12 hours;
use a smoke bomb, which will release carbon dioxide, which accelerates the ripening of fruits.

How to ripen green tomatoes

You can also pick green tomatoes and then ripen them at home.

Milky-wax specimens are suitable. Elastic and dry. That is, the fruits should already be almost ripe, just not reddened.

You need a box or wooden box where unripe fruits are placed in one layer. Then the box is placed in a dark place with high humidity.

The advantage of this method is that you can control the speed at which the tomatoes turn red. In warm conditions (25-30 degrees), the fruits will ripen quickly, in 3 days. In cool weather (+10) for a week and a half.

ON A NOTE. There is another way. Bushes are pulled out of the ground and hung upside down indoors.

Features of care

If all the tomatoes in the greenhouse do not turn red, the fault is due to improper care. In rare cases, the problem lies in the shortcomings of the variety itself.

Growing in a greenhouse has its own nuances. High humidity does not have a very good effect on the formation of fruits, although they like the soil to be abundantly moist. Therefore, make sure that the level does not exceed the norm.

No artificial lighting can replace a plant’s natural light source. Still, try to ensure the maximum that special lamps for greenhouses can provide.

You can force tomatoes to ripen at the same time by following the following rules:

watering the soil: frequent, but dosed;
soil fertilization: alternation of organic matter and minerals, nutrition based on phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium fertilizers;
weeding and timely removal of weeds will facilitate the widespread growth and development of the nightshade crop;
pinching and gartering: removing unnecessary shoots and forming stems is a condition for obtaining a neat bed;
spraying: late blight, viral tobacco mosaic and gray rot are the main enemies of tomatoes.

Why tomatoes don’t turn red on the bush for a long time and why speed up their ripening

Tomatoes are usually in no hurry to acquire color due to the fact that:

you planted a mid-late and late variety;
To improve the set and increase the number of ovaries, you used preparations based on gibberellic acids (Bud or Ovary), which significantly delay the ripening of tomatoes.

Naturally, the main reason for accelerating the ripening of tomatoes is the desire to harvest as soon as possible. But there are others:

Do you want to have time to collect most of the harvest before late blight .
You have a lot of green tomatoes, and the warm season is about to end (there are literally a couple of weeks of warm weather left).

Keep in mind! Tomatoes need to be ripened when they have gained their weight (normal for this variety), i.e. are in the stage of milky ripeness . If you accelerate the ripening of completely green tomatoes, the fruits will ripen before they have fully grown = they will be small (not ripe).

Why don't tomatoes turn red?

The speed of tomato ripening depends on various factors: variety, microclimate, agricultural technology.

On average, from flowering to full ripening it takes from 45 to 56 days. However, in some cases, even early varieties can upset the summer resident with a delayed harvest.

The most common reasons for this are:

Reducing the temperature in the greenhouse . At temperatures below +15°C, the coloring of tomatoes slows down. If the temperature at night does not exceed +8°C, green fruits may not ripen at all. The same thing happens at temperatures above +35°C . The explanation is simple - too high and low temperatures interfere with the production of the pigment lycopene .
Lack of light . The reason for the lack of lighting may be planting trees next to the greenhouse, proximity to a fence or buildings, or too dense arrangement of tomato bushes.
Incorrect feeding . Nitrogen fertilizers can be used only in the spring; their use during the period of flowering and fruit ripening will lead to the growth of stepsons and a delay in harvest. Potassium deficiency also slows down ripening.
Too many tomatoes on the bush . If the yield is high, it is recommended to remove large, partially colored fruits and send them to ripen in boxes.

Keep track of the number of fruits on the bush. Don't overdo it. In the photo is the BABUSHKINO variety.

Also, diseases can cause delayed coloring, so it is necessary to regularly inspect the bushes for diseases , for example, late blight . In this case, the tomatoes must be treated for diseases.