Monty Don has shared a simple trick for ripening green tomatoes: place them in a drawer with a banana. The advice comes after Britain's record-breaking summer left many homegrown tomatoes unripe and green.
In the UK, the main tomato harvest runs from mid-summer to early autumn, with crops ripening from July through September. Tomatoes are a favourite among home gardeners, and the RHS notes they can be grown from seed indoors or bought as young plants, then grown outdoors or in a greenhouse, in pots or in the ground. They grow particularly well in a greenhouse, usually producing an earlier and larger crop.
Why tomatoes stayed green this year
According to Monty Don, “Tomatoes ripen best when the temperature is between 26 & 30 degrees.” This summer's exceptionally hot conditions proved too warm for many tomatoes to ripen correctly, and as Don explains, “September sun is often the most benign of the year.”
Writing on his blog, Don notes that tomatoes, “especially if grown under glass,” may have stayed “green much longer than in a cooler summer.” He adds: “By September, the heat is running out and inevitably we are all left with green tomatoes that are never going to ripen.”
The banana trick and other tips
Don's top tip is to pick the green tomatoes, either individually or on the vine, and put them in a drawer with a banana. He says: “However if you pick them [tomatoes] - either individually or on the bine, then put them in a drawer with a banana, they will ripen and turn red.”
Beyond the banana trick, Don recommends stripping off the bottom half of the leaves on each plant to let in light and air, which helps the fruits get more sun and reduces the risk of disease. He advises this can be continued weekly until no leaves remain.
He also suggests reducing watering unless it is very hot, to avoid fruit splitting, while maintaining a weekly feed of liquid seaweed or homemade comfrey feed, both ideal for maximising flower and fruit production.
