Tomatoes not growing, but turning red

Penname

I have 2 tomato plants - one of which is not very healthy looking, i.e, the leaves have withered and dried up. The tomatoes on it are still tiny but some of them are beginning to turn red.... are they edible?

My other plant is good and healthy and the toms are huge but not turning red yet.

What am I doing wrong - btw, this is my first year growing toms.

looksee

You are not necessarily doing anything wrong, it has been a terrible year for almost everything.

Yes you can eat the tiny red tomatoes (are you sure they are not cherry tomatoes?) and if the green ones don't turn, bring them in and store them in a paper bag (not plastic). Keep an eye on them and use as they ripen. They are more likely to ripen if they are a tiny bit red or orange when you pick them.

If they are absolutely solid green and you have a good few, consider making green tomato chutney, which is delicious. Even the green ones will probably ripen eventually, but they will not be as sweet as the ones that ripen naturally.

Some people suggest putting a ripe banana near them as this gives off something that helps the ripening process. I would be nervous of banana flavoured tomatoes, but it might be worth a try.

magicbastarder

it's ethylene gas which is given off; you can actually buy ethylene gas absorbers to place in your fruit bowl which supposedly slow down the ripening process.

Penname

Great. Thanks very much for the replies.

They're not cherry's as all the tomato plants are from the same seeds and the tomatoes on the healthy plant are big (but green) if you know what I mean. But I don't mind eating them small - once I know they're edible.