GARDENING: Harvest tomatoes before the birds do – Odessa American

Floyd is a horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. He can be reached at 498-4071 in Ector County or 686-4700 in Midland County or by email at Jeff.Floyd@ag.tamu.edu

Floyd is an Agri-Life Extension agent for Ector and Midland counties. To learn more, call the Ector County Extension office at 432-498-4072, or the Midland County Extension office at 432-686-4700, or email jeff.floyd@ag.tamu.edu.

Tomato bird damage

Posted: Sunday, June 11, 2017 3:00 am

GARDENING: Harvest tomatoes before the birds do By Jeff Floyd Odessa American

Birds are cunning. Theyre watching your tomatoes more closely than you are, waiting for the fruit to turn the perfect shade of red so they can make their move.

Many times, theyll peck at the fruit just enough to dash your dreams of a big crop. Oh, that wretched feeling of spotting a bright red tomato on the vine only to discover it has a chunk wallowed out of one side by some devious fowl.

This is an easy problem to avoid. Simply harvest your tomatoes just as they begin to turn pink. Then lay them out on a flat surface without allowing them to touch one another and keep them between seventy and seventy-five degrees until ripe. Thats it. Problem solved.

We hear a lot about vine ripened tomatoes tasting better than those harvested early. Not true. The concentration of sugars in vine-ripened tomatoes is the same as those harvested just as they begin to turn. An added advantage to harvesting often and early is that some tomato plants will be more productive and yield larger fruit.

Tomatoes depend on the right temperature and a couple of naturally produced chemicals to ripen; ethylene and lycopene. Ethylene is a gas responsible for accumulating lycopene in tomatoes. Lycopene is a pigment that gives tomatoes color. Ethylene and lycopene work hand in hand to complete the ripening process.

When temperatures remain hot (above 85) for extended periods, ethylene production slows or stops. Many gardeners become frustrated with late summer green tomatoes. Sometimes the harvest is delayed until better conditions restart the ripening process. Those rascally winged thieves are counting on you to wait. Rather than postpone your harvest for ideal conditions, turn the tables on birds by snatching your tomatoes off the vine early and allowing them to ripen indoors.

To learn more about having a successful tomato harvest this year, contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office at 498-4071 or email jeff.floyd@ag.tamu.edu.

Posted in Gardening on Sunday, June 11, 2017 3:00 am. | Tags: Texas A&m Agrilife Extension Office, Jeff Floyd, Pecans, Pruning, Prune, Soft Landscape Materials, Landscape, Gardening, Gardener, Food, Integra, Repeat Applications, West Texas

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GARDENING: Harvest tomatoes before the birds do - Odessa American