How Do You Pick the Perfect Moment to Harvest Ripe Tomatoes?

Growing tomatoes can be a study in patience. You started your seeds indoors 45 days before your last frost date, you took the time to harden them off, you watered them, fertilized them, and pruned them. And now you wait (well... you wait while you continue watering them, fertilizing them, and pruning them, of course).

Tomatoes need 65 to 90 days to reach maturity. We're growing these plants for their fruit, and fruit is one of the very last steps in a plant's life cycle. 

So when fruits finally make their grand debut, how do you know when the magical moment has arrived to harvest them at their height of sun-ripened deliciousness? There are 3 signs to look for.

How Long Do Tomatoes Take to Grow?

Tomatoes need at least 2 months to grow before there will be anything to harvest. Once you see fruits forming, take note of how many days it takes the flower to turn into a green fruit. That's about how many days it will also take for that fruit to then ripen fully. Most flowers will turn into full-size fruits in about 15 to 20 days. So you're looking at another 15 to 20 days before those fruits are ready to harvest.

Feeling impatient? Remind yourself that vine-ripened tomatoes are one of the best things in the garden—definitely something worth waiting for!

The Skin Has Turned the Mature Color of the Fruit

Your tomato will be at its vine-ripened peak of flavor and nutrition when about 90% of the skin has turned to the mature color of the fruit. For many tomato varieties, that's red, but it could also be yellow or dark purple. If you're growing Barry's Crazy Cherry Tomatoes, then you're looking for each little fruit to turn from light green to yellow. If you're growing Cherokee Purple, then ripe tomatoes will be dark red with green or purple streaks at the top and bottom.

Tomatoes, by the way, often have several ripening colors. Unripe tomatoes are green. Then, they start to blush, or turn yellow or light pink (whatever their first ripening color is). Underripe tomatoes are those that are just starting to turn their mature color. You can see tomatoes in all stages of ripeness in the picture below.

The Tomato Passes the Squeeze Test

It's not very nice to squeeze tomatoes at the farmers' market, but you can give fruits you're growing at home a gentle press to the bottom to see if they're ready for picking. (Ripening of tomatoes typically happens from the bottom up.)

When fruits are at their peak ripeness, they're neither too soft nor too firm; they have a slight give. If the bottom of the fruit still feels firm, give it more time to ripen.

Ripe fruits are also easy to pluck from the vine. If you pull on a fruit and it's still firmly attached, give it some more time.

Frost Is on the Way

If you're expecting frost, then—ready or not!—it's time to harvest those fruits and remove the plants from your garden. Cut each cluster of fruit and bring them indoors to ripen on a windowsill or inside a brown bag. Most fruits don't continue to ripen and sweeten up once they're picked, but tomatoes can. Tomatoes that were starting to blush when they were cut will continue to ripen off the plant. They just won't be as sweet as vine-ripened fruit.

If you're a couple weeks out from your first frost, you can plan ahead and encourage as many fruits to ripen as possible on each plant. Top off the plant by cutting the very top of the vine. This tells the plant to put all its energy to finishing the fruiting process.

Another reason for ripening tomatoes off the vine might be pests stealing your fruits. Consider protecting individual fruits with mesh bags (the kind you might store jewelry in) instead of harvesting trusses with unripe fruit and bringing them indoors. A mesh bag is a simple barrier, but it's often enough to deter squirrels and birds.

Can You Pick Green Tomatoes?

Tomatoes ripen in stages, and you can technically pick the fruit at any stage once it's fully formed.

Green tomatoes are still developing their delicious flavor. In case you're wondering why homegrown tomatoes taste so much better than store-bought ones, it's because commercially grown tomatoes are often harvested when they're still green so that they can ripen on their long journey to the grocery store.

There is one advantage to picking unripe tomatoes. Their flesh is firmer than that of a ripe tomato, so they do hold up to cooking a bit better if you want your fruit to stay intact. That's why we have the classic dish, fried green tomatoes.

You can also pick tomatoes once they begin to blush. These fruits are now producing ethylene gas, which is what causes them to ripen and develop flavor. These tomatoes need another week or two on the plant to fully ripen, but you can pick them at this stage if you need to protect them from frost or squirrels. The best way to ripen tomatoes off the vine is to stick them in a brown paper bag (to trap the ethylene gas).

What's the Best Way to Harvest Tomatoes?

You can pluck tomato fruits from the vine by gently tugging them at a slight angle. If they're nice and ripe, they should pull away easily. This method is fast and simple, but you do risk breaking a branch and harming your plants.

The best, safest way to harvest fruit, therefore, is to use a clean set of pruners to cut the stem right above the fruit or the entire truss.

What Happens If You Leave a Tomato on the Vine Too Long?

It's always best to harvest something as soon as it's ready. The more time fruits spend on your plant, the higher the chance something can go wrong. The fruit might split open, become overripe and mushy, get carried off by a bird, or rot on the plant.

You also want to keep your tomato plants picked if you're growing an indeterminate, or vining, variety. Determinate varieties fruit and finish all at once. So you'll just take your harvest and pretty much say bye bye to the plant. But indeterminate varieties will keep fruiting. You can harvest fruits here and there while others continue ripening on the plant. The best way to encourage your vining tomatoes to keep producing more fruit for you is to harvest fruits frequently. The last thing you want to do is leave some mature fruits on the plant. The plant will spend all its energy maintaining those fruits instead of forming new ones.

Why Are My Tomatoes Bursting Open?

If your fruits are cracking or bursting open on the plant or after harvest, that's usually a sign that your watering was off. You watered too much, not enough, or too inconsistently.

This is an easy issue to remedy by watering more consistently. Tomatoes need at least one inch of water per week. If you're not getting enough rainfall, you'll have to take over watering duty. Wilting leaves are another classic sign you're not watering enough.

(By the way, you can still eat fruits that burst open after harvest—just enjoy them ASAP. I typically toss fruits that are cracked on the plant in case a bug got inside.)

Why Are My Tomatoes Taking Forever to Ripen?

Good things take time, but there are a couple things you can do to encourage your plants to speed up the tomato ripening time.

ONE: PRUNE TOMATO LEAVES

Pruning it regularly tells your tomato plant to put its energy toward ripening the fruits rather than growing more leaves. (Learn more about the best way to prune tomatoes.)

Two: Ensure the Plants Have Access to Sunlight

Be certain the sunshine levels remain as high as possible for your tomatoes as they continue to grow. It takes a lot of energy to maintain all that fruit, so the leaves of your plant need to feel at least 8 hours of sun shining on them every day. Consider pruning any tall plants like Swiss chard or kale that might be shading your tomato leaves.

Three: ADD PHOSPHORUS-RICH FERTILIZER TO YOUR TOMATO PLANTS

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and phosphorus, in particular, helps with the fruiting process. Pick an organic fertilizer and add it sparingly, about every other week. You could also add more compost to the base of the plant. (Learn more about fertilizing your tomato plants.)

Four: CAP THE VINE AT THE TOP

If you're nearing the end of your season and really need your tomatoes to finish up, cut the very top off the vine. This tells your plants to stop putting any more energy into growing bigger and to instead put all of their energy into finishing the fruiting process. 

How to Use Up All Your Tomatoes

I'm not into canning, so I like to enjoy all my tomatoes fresh. Here are some of my favorite ways to use up large tomato harvests:

• Make garden-fresh pico de gallo.
• Slow roast them and make this herb couscous recipe.
• Cook up Martha Stewart's tomato and basil pasta or her incredible tomato and brie tart.
• Try this twist on Joshua McFadden's tomato salad recipe—it's the perfect summery dish.
• Make PlantYou's hidden white bean tomato soup.

How to Store Tomatoes

Keep your tomatoes at room temp since putting them in the fridge changes the texture completely. The only tomatoes that should go in the fridge are ones that have been cut already.

Your tomatoes are pretty fragile, so store them in a large bowl or open container. Consider keeping large tomatoes stem-side down for best flavor. Don't expect your homegrown tomatoes to last as long as the ones from the grocery store, not if you harvested them at peak ripeness. It's really best to enjoy them as soon as possible.

Enjoy the Sweetest Tomato Harvest Ever!

Your tomatoes might not look like the perfect red orbs from the produce aisle. They might be lumpy (that's pretty much expected if they're heirlooms). They might have cracks that run in circles around their tops. They might be a little smaller than you expected.

It doesn't matter. If you harvest them at their peak ripeness, they will be the most delicious tomatoes you've ever tasted in your life. Well worth the long wait! Pop those fruits into your mouth straight off the vine, and enjoy one of the greatest pleasures your garden can give you.