[Tomato Dirt #209] Is It Ripe? A Guide to Picking Tomatoes at Season’s End

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[Tomato Dirt #209] Is It Ripe? A Guide to Picking Tomatoes at Season’s End
August 20, 2020

Tomato Dirt Newsletter
Volume 10, Number 17

Dear Tomato Dirt reader,

Welcome back to Tomato Dirt! A couple times a month, we’ll send you this newsletter packed with tips about growing tomatoes and using them.

End of the Summer – a Great Time to Save!

Gardener’s Supply is having its end-of-season clearance sale – 35% off garden supplies, kitchen and home, pots and planters … and more. Check out the deals!

Tomato Dirt is on Pinterest

Join us on Pinterest! Browse our 100+ boards (and growing) for all kinds of tomato inspiration and practical information: growing tomatoes, tomato seeds, cold frames for tomatoes, tomato books, tomato greenhouses, , indoor tomatoes – even crafts to do with a tomato theme. Happy pinning!

FEATURE: Is It Ripe? A Guide to Picking Tomatoes at Season’s End

Image: USDA

How do you know a tomato is ripe? This is an especially important question to ask at season’s end, when you’re concerned about cold nights and wonder whether or not to pick fruit … or take a chance and leave it on the vine.

You’re not the only one with that question!

In fact, the US Department of Agriculture has created standards that help growers and vendors to know how ripe a tomato is. The standards are identified as “stages” and are based on fruit color. Each stage represents a progressively increasing amount of color.

You can use these helpful guidelines to pick tomatoes in your garden.

Stage 1: Green. The surface has not yet begun to turn color, although the shade of green may vary from light to dark.
Stage 2: Breakers. The tomato’s skin shows a definite break in color from green to tan, yellow, orange, or pink – but not more than 10% of its surface
Stage 3: Turning. Between 10-30% of the tomato’s surface shows a definite change in color
Stage 4: Pink. Between 30-60% of the tomato’s surface shows a definite change in color
Stage 5: Light Red. Between 60-90% of the tomato’s surface shows a definite change in color
Stage 6: Red. More than 90% of the tomato’s surface shows a definite change in color.

Get more details about when to pick tomatoes … and be sure to check out our Harvesting Tomatoes Pinterest board for more helpful information.

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Get the book and you’ll also get 6 free bonuses, including the Family Tomato Cookbook and a database of 1300 varieties of tomatoes. More details here.

Build a Shed In A Weekend Even If With Zero Woodworking Experience

Fall is just around the corner. And that’s a perfect time to build the shed you’ve been dreaming about.

And now you can get Ryan’s Shed Plans at a special Lockdown Discount. (Check it out here.)

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Check out Ryan’s Shed Plans here.