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2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

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  • droopsnoot
    droopsnoot Posts: 1,863 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I have plenty of green tomatoes on my plants, a handful of red ones, but as we head into September I wonder if the rest are actually going to ripen at any point. I'm still getting new tomatoes starting, too. I have a similar issue with chillies, but as I've lost track of what types are growing, I don't know whether they're all actually supposed to turn red or not.
  • alicef
    alicef Posts: 529 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have plenty of green tomatoes on my plants, a handful of red ones, but as we head into September I wonder if the rest are actually going to ripen at any point. I'm still getting new tomatoes starting, too. I have a similar issue with chillies, but as I've lost track of what types are growing, I don't know whether they're all actually supposed to turn red or not.
    I stopped watering about a week ago and chopped off the very top of the vines, and toms. are ripening fine, (my toms are in a polytunnel).  Back up plan to ripen, is to put them in a paper bag with, say a banana - the ethylene given off is meant to promote ripening.  Re. chillies - not all chillies turn red when they ripen, some go orange or yellow for example.  I have some black chillies - look great but not very hot at the moment - if I were to leave them on the plant to go red then they would be hotter.
    Fashion on the Ration 2025  27/66   
  • KajiKita
    KajiKita Posts: 7,354 Forumite
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    Finally harvested my first sweet pepper of the season! It’s been such an unproductive year here! 🤷‍♀️

    KK
    As at 15.06.25:
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    Read 33 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 6th July
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    Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
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  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 10,230 Forumite
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    None of my peppers are going yellow, despite being in the greenhouse. I have picked three to put in with the picked windowsill tomatoes, to see if that is better. As for chillies, the Jalopeno and Cayenne are fine. The 6 tabasco plants are only now developing flower buds so are likely to be a write off. 

    I'm not a fan of the ethylene from bananas to ripen tomatoes as my experience is that the tomatoes rot really quickly.
    Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
    OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My new diary is here
  • grandmanerd
    grandmanerd Posts: 1,296 Forumite
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    carinjo said:
    For how long can i leave green tomatoes on the windowsill to ripen? At some point i guess it safer to turn it into something like chutney?
    Put them in a brown paper bag in a drawer or if you have a higher ledge on that window put them up there - they look as though they're in the shadow of the window and depending on the angle the sun comes in at, they just might not be getting enough. Could try putting them on a board or pieces of cardboard to get them looking out of the window
  • droopsnoot
    droopsnoot Posts: 1,863 Forumite
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    alicef said:
    I stopped watering about a week ago and chopped off the very top of the vines, and toms. are ripening fine, (my toms are in a polytunnel).  Back up plan to ripen, is to put them in a paper bag with, say a banana - the ethylene given off is meant to promote ripening.  Re. chillies - not all chillies turn red when they ripen, some go orange or yellow for example.  I have some black chillies - look great but not very hot at the moment - if I were to leave them on the plant to go red then they would be hotter.
    Yes, this is the problem I have, caused by losing track of the pots and seeds. As I also don't really remember what types I planted - as well as not knowing which is where, and which didn't come to anything - I didn't want to start harvesting only to find I've wasted my time by eating them too early. I've had one red chilli so far which was very nice and spicy, and I've another one with is probably 95% red, so will be the next for the chop.

    Interesting about stopping watering, I might try that on a couple to see what happens. I've been lopping the tops off, but all the tomato plants are very tall before they even started flowering. I've heard of putting them with other stuff, for me it means buying bananas specially for the job, which is perhaps no big deal. Pity it doesn't work with bruised windfall apples as I keep cycling past a big tub of them.
  • alicef
    alicef Posts: 529 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    @droopsnout I always start with best intentions on making notes; labelling; succession planning - then it all goes to pot.  The labels for the garlic, particularly, always seem to disappear from the end of the row.   

    I think there are a myriad of fruit/veg that give off ethylene - so you don't have to buy in anything special.  Tomatoes do - so if you have some that are ripe then put them together.  

    It's so nice for people to put out fruit for people to take away - all you need now is to cycle past some blackberry bushes and you're set - I adore apple and blackberry crumble/pie/anything with that combination!

    Fashion on the Ration 2025  27/66   
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 10,230 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Ooh, that has just reminded me, I've got a tray of blackberries in the freezer, that I picked on the dog-walk yesterday. It is an excellent year for them
    Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
    OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My new diary is here
  • Its been fairly unproductive here in south wales with veg wise. I have had a few rough months though so concentrating on the garden was put on the back burner. 

    Was happy yesterday to see I have a good few cucumbers on the vine after I actually managed to get five to pin them up to let them see the light of day,

    then decided to move all my strawberry plants since they are overtaking the bed they were in and I was finding runners everywhere. 

    Found a bag as well that I remembered putting spuds into and the leaves were dying back so pulled them to find a nice little haul in there too. Will do us for tea or two anyway and I have another 3 bags and 2 tubs to pull at some point but Im so glad I staggered their planting, 

    other than that Ive been out blackberry picking, no one round here seems to do it so I will continue to make the most of it. Made a batch of blackberry jam this morning and now its cooling on the side. 

    Time to find me again
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