As a tomato plant gardener knowing when to rip up your plants is an important part of maximise your harvest . While it may be tempting to leave the plants in the soil as long as potential , timing is everything when it come to getting the most out of your Lycopersicon esculentum craw . In this clause , we ’ll go over the sign that betoken it ’s time to pluck up your industrial plant , as well as tips for harvesting green tomato and prepping your garden for next year .
Watch the Calendar
The first indication it ’s nearing time to pull up tomato plants is the calendar Tomatoes thrive in warm weather condition , but most variety show will discontinue setting yield when nighttime temperature regularly flatten below 55 ° F This is a sign that your love apple time of year is coming to an end .
Pay attention to the average first frost date for your region , which is when temperature dip below 32 ° farad . love apple flora will not go a frost . Most gardeners aim to pull works up 2 - 3 weeks before the first expected rime to allow prison term for green love apple to ripen indoors .
Monitor Plant Health
Your plant themselves will also show mansion it ’s time to call it a season . As daylength shortens in late summer and fall , tomato plants get down to refuse . You ’ll notice ho-hum maturation , littler fruit , flowering taper off , and leaves yellow or browning .
Once your tomato plant have block up flowering and fruiting , it wo n’t be long before the first rime hit . Go ahead and pull up the plants while they still have some life sentence provide in them .
Check for Disease and Pests
disease like early blight , septoria foliage bit , and fusarium wilt deepen as plant age and the weather chill . scrutinize leaves and stems for spots , wilting , mold , and dieback . Infestations of tomato hornworms and other pests also increase later in the time of year .
The bearing of disease or major gadfly damage is a sign your plant have reached the end of their productive life . rip them up to prevent issue from spreading spores and pests to other parts of your garden .
Harvest Green Tomatoes
When pull out up Lycopersicon esculentum plants , do n’t discard green tomatoes still clinging to the vines ! These can be mature indoors or used in recipe like fried green tomatoes and chutney .
beak green love apple just before or right away after pull plants . Store at 55 - 70 ° fluorine out of direct sunlight for 2 - 6 week . The ripening unconscious process slows in cooler temperature . you may place tomato in a paper bag or cardboard box with a ripe banana to belt along thing up . Ethylene gas released by the banana will speed ripen .
Check tomatoes every 2 - 3 days and get rid of any that become soft or start rot . Ripe tomatoes should be actuate to the electric refrigerator . With fear , you may mature a terminal fistful of tomatoes from your summer garden !
Prepare for Next Season
Once tomato plants are pulled up , the work is n’t done . Take steps to promote a respectable harvest next class :
Clear all plant junk from the garden to remove places where pests and disease survive wintertime . Put diseased plant in the trash , not the compost chain reactor .
better grunge with compost or fertilizer to replenish nutrients used by this year ’s crop .
turn over crop rotation if disease were a problem this year . Do n’t works tomatoes in the same spot as this season .
Disinfect any cages or trellis before store to drink down bacterium and fungi .
Save source from open - pollenate varieties if desired . Store in a coolheaded , ironical place over winter .
With some strategical timing and care when pulling up your tomato plants , you may maximize harvest time , minimise disease issue , and give your garden a levelheaded showtime next tomato plant season . Pay close attention a few weeks before your first pin icing and be quick to take action once those key foretoken appear .
Signs Your Tomato Plants Are Done For the Season & Ready to Be Replaced
FAQ
When should I rip out my tomato plants ?
Should you pull quondam tomato plant plants or till them into the ground ?
When to stop love apple plants from growing ?
