Green tomatoes will eventually ripen if out in a drawer indoors. It takes a
while.
Perhaps a banana will accelerate the process. I had my first ripe tomato
( greenhouse grown ) in early August, but I've only had three ripen so far,
the
main crop has yet to ripen.

Andy ( Devon )

I read in a book that one way to ripen them on the vine is to take your
shovel and cut straight down into the ground about 1 foot away from the main
stock. Then go 1/4 of the way around the plant and do it again. This is
supposed to fool the plant into thinking it is dying and it puts all it's
effort into ripening the fruit and its seeds, which is what the plants main
purpose is anyway.

Dwayne

"compo" wrote in message
...
Hi gang,

We have had a dreadful summer in the far north of Scotland, a bad
depression in the Norwegian sea causing cool northerly winds and low
cloud throughout July and some of August. As a result the tomatoes in
my polytunnel are reluctant to ripen.

How can I encourage the hard green fruits to ripen on the vine at this
late stage of summer?

--
Cheers,
Compo - Nothing ventured, nothing failed. (Ian Dury)

The message
from Grumach Macabre of Auchterloonie
contains these words:

unless you grow the melons yourself, and up in Caithness this
year they might be of a comparative size to yer martyrs innit.

--

,,,
}»«üüüü(@


The melings didn't even grow LAST year - and that was a better year all round.

--
Cheers,
Compo - Nothing ventured, nothing failed. (Ian Dury)

The message
from "Dwayne" contains these words:
\snip\
This is
supposed to fool the plant into thinking it is dying and it puts all it's
effort into ripening the fruit and its seeds, which is what the plants main
purpose is anyway.

Dwayne

That's an interesting method and one I shall try - I have 30 plants and
can spare a few to experiment.

The gas given off by ripenuing fruit is, I believe, ethylene (or
something sounding like that).

We have had a three fine, sunny days in succession - the first time this
summer that has happened. it seems to have given the vines a bit of a
boost and a few toms are beginning to blush. With luck I should get
some ripe ones before having to resort to the bananas and windowledges.

Thanks for the ideas gang.

--
Cheers,
Compo - Nothing ventured, nothing failed. (Ian Dury)

compo wrote:
Hi gang,

We have had a dreadful summer in the far north of Scotland, a bad
depression in the Norwegian sea causing cool northerly winds and low
cloud throughout July and some of August. As a result the tomatoes in
my polytunnel are reluctant to ripen.

How can I encourage the hard green fruits to ripen on the vine at this
late stage of summer?


Commercial growers use acetylene gas which is also given off
by ripening fruit, bananas especially. However acetylene gas
is heavier than air. It settles on the floor of the greenhouses
and is recirculated with pumps in commercial situations I believe.
Which is o.k if you put a few toms in a plasic bag with a
ripening banana on top, but more difficult in a polytunnel
situation. You could possibly try bagging up the trusses as
they are on the vines, with a banana enclosed and shaking
it around to promote circulation of the acetylene now and
again, which would otherwise stay at the bottom of the bag.
Assuming the compostion of the air inside the bag wasn't
affected by the trusses exhaling at least.


michael adams

....

--
Cheers,
Compo - Nothing ventured, nothing failed. (Ian Dury)

The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

Commercial growers use acetylene gas which is also given off
by ripening fruit, bananas especially.

Not enough hydrogen.

Eyhylene (heavy carburetted Hydrogen - C2H2) is used for ripening
tomatoes - by some producers. Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Jaques d'Alltrades writes:
| The message
| from "michael adams" contains these words:
|
| Commercial growers use acetylene gas which is also given off
| by ripening fruit, bananas especially.
|
| Not enough hydrogen.
|
| Eyhylene (heavy carburetted Hydrogen - C2H2) is used for ripening
| tomatoes - by some producers. Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

Ye olde name for it?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:14:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltradeswrote:
Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

and for lighting one's way home at night in days of yore.
But not in mine ;-)

In article , WaltA please@dontbesi
lly.somewhere.com writes
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:14:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltradeswrote:
Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

and for lighting one's way home at night in days of yore.
But not in mine ;-)

Isn't that the product of the carbide light used by (some) cavers?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:56:46 +0100, Kay wrote:
WaltA writes
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:14:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltradeswrote:
Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

and for lighting one's way home at night in days of yore.
But not in mine ;-)

Isn't that the product of the carbide light used by (some) cavers?
Kay

Yes, the very same.
and by motorcyclists in days of yore.
Whereas cavers (usually) had no problems of running out of water to
add to their carbide to generate the gas to make the light,
motorcyclists were sometimes er, how shall I say, erum caught short.
But I'll leave Rusty to elaborate upon that :-!)

WaltA wrote:
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:56:46 +0100, Kay wrote:
WaltA writes
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:14:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltradeswrote:
Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

and for lighting one's way home at night in days of yore.
But not in mine ;-)

Isn't that the product of the carbide light used by (some) cavers?
Kay

Yes, the very same.
and by motorcyclists in days of yore.
Whereas cavers (usually) had no problems of running out of water to
add to their carbide to generate the gas to make the light,
motorcyclists were sometimes er, how shall I say, erum caught
short.
But I'll leave Rusty to elaborate upon that :-!)

Still woefully OT: Has anybody here ever used a punctured tin of
carbide to stun fish?

--
Mike.

Jaques d'Alltrades writes:

Eyhylene (heavy carburetted Hydrogen - C2H2) is used for ripening
tomatoes - by some producers. Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

Ethylene is C2H4, Acetylene C2H2, also known as Ethene and Ethyne
respectively, and the simplest forms of the Alkene and Alkyne groups
of organic chemicals. The Alkanes start one lower with Methane before
progressing to the two-carbon Ethane.

Knew the organic section of my chemistry A-Level would come in ahndy
one day.

Anthony

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:30:00 GMT,
(WaltA) wrote:

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:14:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltradeswrote:
Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)

and for lighting one's way home at night in days of yore.
But not in mine ;-)

That would have solved the motorcycle dynamo problem. They were very
bright.

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

Commercial growers use acetylene gas which is also given off
by ripening fruit, bananas especially.

Not enough hydrogen.

Eyhylene (heavy carburetted Hydrogen - C2H2) is used for ripening
tomatoes - by some producers. Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)


acetylene = ethyne = C2H2
ethylene = ethene = C2H4

With respect to the claims elsethread that acetylene is heavier than
air, acetylene is lighter than air (14 amu per molecule as opposed to
16.5 for air) and ethylene marginally so (16 amu per molecule), but the
differences are sufficiently small I wouldn't expect any separation.

[ To a first approximation all gases have the same number of molecules
per unit volume. ]
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

The message
from Stewart Robert Hinsley contains these words:
In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

Commercial growers use acetylene gas which is also given off
by ripening fruit, bananas especially.

Not enough hydrogen.

Eyhylene (heavy carburetted Hydrogen - C2H2) is used for ripening
tomatoes - by some producers. Acetylene is used for welding - (CH2)


acetylene = ethyne = C2H2

Acetylene/ethyne is C2H - (sorry, typo up above)

ethylene = ethene = C2H4

According to Chambers, Ethylene/ethene/heavy_carburetted_hydrogen is
C2H2 - but Collins agrees with you that it's C2H4. C2H4 sounds much more
likely. And all my organic chemistry books are in boxes in some barn or
other somewhere in Norfolk...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/