Gardeners: Is it better to ripen tomatoes on the vine or pick them when they are mature and ripen them?

Question

in the house in a cupboard?

Is it beneficial to the plant to harvest the tomatoes as soon as they are mature (light green in color)?

Does it make any difference to the flavor of the tomato?

Answer 1

Anything that is ripened on the vine is best.  It is sweeter.

But, it will have a shorter life afterward.

Answer 2

Vine ripen tomatoes always cost more....because they are mature...and they do taste much better if left to ripen on the vine! This truth should answer this part of the question.  

Her's a tip.

Should you pick them early always place them in a paper bag...this speeds up the ripening process.

Here's another tip:

If you want these tomatoes to ripen quicker on the plants...snip off the branches that contain no flowers...this aides in sunlight getting to the tomatoes...which will cause them to ripen easier...also this  allows energy to go to the fruit.  Unnecessary energy is lost with to many non productive branches...and also this makes it harder for tomatoes to ripen...Same with peppers, etc.  This all came from a friend.  She's almost 100 and knows her gardening how to's!  Good harvest I hope!

Answer 3

They taste better when ripened on the vine, but sometimes I will pick them a little early, ( a lighter shade of red-orange), if I have enough ripe ones & want to slow the ripening a bit. Never when green, ( unless you want to make fried green tomatoes). I don't know if it's the right thing to do or not, but it works for me. (We live in FL)

Answer 4

Leave them and let nature do its thing, just like the Lord intended

Answer 5

Tomatoes ripened on the vine do taste better and is what I would recommend (more tomato flavour), however you run a slightly higher risk that bugs will start eating away the tomato depending on where you live and if this is a problem.  I recommend picking it while it's red, still firm and just becoming soft and deep red in colour.  You could then leave it on a counter, in a basket or a soft surface so that the tomato doesn't bruise while resting on its own weight.

I personally haven't noticed any benefit to picking tomatoes when they're green (i.e. theoretically it might allow the plants resources to go towards creating new fruit, though I suspect this is minimal since you're watering it regularly) except towards the end of growing season when frost or cold may damage the fruit.

Answer 6

The only difference between ripening them on the vine or say in a dark draw is that the skin thickens when ripened artificially

Answer 7

I pick mine when they're about 2/3 ripe, then put them in a kitchen window.

I find that if I leave them on the vine too long, it's too tempting to the various bugs in my garden.

I find that this doesn't affect the flavor.

As you may know, supermarket tomatoes are picked green and "gassed" with ethylene gas to turn them red.  They're not actually ripe.  This is why they taste so bland and can give you a stomach-ache.

Answer 8

They are sweeter if they are vine-ripened!  We grow them every summer!  I love them- too much! :D

Answer 9

They taste better when ripened on the vine but either way is fine.