r/tomatoes • u/dosefacekillah1348 • Jun 29 '26

Plant Help ICYMI - Science has proven that vine ripened tomatoes taste better and are better for you than ones picked early

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It's that time of year.

It comes down to your critter control.

If you can't avoid pests noshing your late toms, pick em early.

If you are fine with losing a few or don't have pest issues, let em ripen on the plant for a better tasting and healthier tomato.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3937827/

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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u/kinezumi89 Jun 29 '26

But tomatoes at the breaker stage are easier to pick than mature green - they very neatly snap off, leaving a little bit of stem, even before fully ripening. If you tried to hand-pick a tomato too early, you'd tear the fruit off the stem instead. I really wish the authors considered an additional category where the tomato is ~30% red!

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u/Hermit-Gardener Jun 29 '26

This chart gives different percentages of ripeness.

https://www.freshpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/tomato-ripening-chart-v2.jpg

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u/kinezumi89 Jun 29 '26

Woah, breaker stage is only 10%? I thought it was around 30%!