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I tried SO hard to save all my heirloom tomatoes (had like 40 plants) before the frost, overall chilly temperatures, or excess rain killed them. . . Sadly though I got the greenhouse up the very day it frosted, and half my crop died. After that, the rest slowly wilted away for some reason, and a week later a storm ripped all the plastic off the greenhouse, so now I've just got wilted brown plants covered in green tomatoes.
REALLY was hoping all those green tomatoes could have at least made it to mature ripeness. . . Such a waste.
I was able to taste ONE tomato, a Brandywine. It was delicious.
When the end season comes you can cut the base stalk and hang upside down in the garage/barn to "vine ripen" the greens.
But I just make green tomato pickles and have never tried the ripening.
Every fall/winter I clean up the garden, fertilize with compose and goat/chicken stuff, rototill, make my "hill rows", lay out water hoses, then cover entire garden in black plastic. In the spring I then just cut a hole in the plastic to plant the plant. and I always get a ton of toms!
By letting the plastic sit all winter it has completely off gases so I don't have to worry about that. and the compost under the cover has broken down and created good soil while not washing away in the rain and the black helps keep heat in.
I like the black plastic covering during the winter...course the chickens would be made as they are ravaging all goodies they can get their little pe****s on...whoops, I mean mouths on. I will now have to go and scoop all the dirt from the pathes and put it back into the beds.
I too will bring in green tomatoes and they will ripen over time.