Tomato harvesting is a topic that sparks a lot of debate among gardeners, and everyone has their own tried-and best methods. However, it’s now known that picking tomatoes a bit early doesn’t significantly affect their final flavor, as long as they’ve started to change color.
Best time to pick Tomatoes
The best time to pick tomatoes is during the “breaker stage,” when 40-50% of the tomato’s color has changed. Harvesting at this stage allows you to better manage your tomato crop. Store the tomatoes for later use, and avoid losing fruit to birds or squirrels. At the breaker stage, more than half of the tomato has turned its ripe color, indicating that it’s ready to be brought indoors to finish ripening. This ensures the best flavor and texture.
The Risks of Letting Tomatoes Fully Ripen on the Vine
If you allow tomatoes to fully ripen on the vine, turning completely red, you’ll likely have to contend with birds, squirrels, and mice going after your fruit. Overripe tomatoes are also more susceptible to diseases and pests, attracting garden invaders that can quickly ruin your crop.
On the other hand, if you pick tomatoes too early, when they’ve just started to change color, they’ll be hard, bland, and lack the sweet juiciness that makes them so desirable. The key is to let your tomatoes ripen about halfway, pick them, and then allow them to finish ripening indoors. This method is effective in all USDA growing zones and is particularly useful for gardeners with short growing seasons.
How Tomatoes Ripen
When you pick tomatoes at the stage where 40-60% of their skin has changed color, you’re still harvesting “vine-ripe tomatoes.” This stage, known as the breaker stage, is when the green fruit begins to “break” and change color. Taste tests have shown that tomatoes picked at the breaker stage have the same flavor, sweetness, and ripeness as those left to fully ripen on the vine.
After more than half of a tomato has changed color, it receives fewer nutrients from the vine. The sugars and flavors within the fruit are fully developed and are activated by heat and light. This means you can pick a partially ripe tomato. It will continue to ripen to its full potential on your kitchen counter. You’ll know it’s fully ripe when the entire skin has turned its final color and the flesh is firm but not mushy. At this point, the tomatoes are ready to be eaten, stored, or processed into sauces and canned goods.
Your Garden Conditions
The ripening process of tomatoes influence by your climate, environment, and soil type. In regions like the Southwest coastal valleys, tomatoes might reach the ripening stage by early summer. In contrast, gardeners on the East Coast may see their tomatoes ready for harvest in mid-summer or even fall.
Gardeners in cooler climates, like the Pacific Northwest, can still enjoy a bountiful tomato harvest, but it typically occurs later in the season compared to warmer regions. In growing zones 8 and below, where temperatures are cooler, it’s important to pick tomatoes at the breaker stage. If you leave all the fruit to ripen on the vine in these cooler regions, they may become soft and lose quality as fall frosts set in. Harvesting at the breaker stage and bringing the tomatoes indoors allows for high-quality fruit production even in less-than-ideal conditions.
