Content
How to speed up the ripening of tomatoes in open ground: advice if the summer is cold or short
04.04.2023 13:51
Updated: 15.04.2023 02:16
Heat-loving crops are usually planted in greenhouses. Tomatoes are also considered such, but they often grow in open ground.
In this case, you can’t rely on the weather, and no summer resident is immune from the fact that the tomatoes will have to be picked while still green, but you really want them to ripen on the bushes.
For this case, savvy summer residents have one fail-safe method that helps out in cold or short summers.
How to speed up the ripening of tomatoes
Tomatoes turn red not only because the warm August sun is shining on them from the sky. They ripen much faster when tomatoes have enough potassium.
What to feed
The first option is to add wood ash. This is a well-known source of potassium and other deficient elements. Ash-based infusions are prepared or fertilizer is added to moist soil with subsequent incorporation.
The second option is to buy potassium humate in a store. The nutrient solution is prepared from one tablespoon of potassium humate dissolved in 10 liters of water. Watering is carried out at intervals of once every 2-3 weeks, starting from mid-summer until harvesting.
A few more tricks
1. Tomatoes ripen faster if you remove flower stalks from the bushes starting in mid-August.
2. If you trim or pinch the top of the branches of a tomato bush.
3. If you reduce watering of the bushes starting from mid-August.
4. The same thing happens when pruning leaves and side shoots, but this needs to be done throughout the season.
