Should I Pick Tomatoes When They Are Green

Harvest time for tomatoes should ideally occur when the fruit is a mature green and then allowed to ripen off the vine. This prevents splitting or bruising and allows for a measure of control over the ripening process.

Can you pick tomatoes while still green?

Harvest of Unripe Tomatoes It’s absolutely OK to harvest green tomato fruits. Doing so won’t hurt the plant, and it won’t hurt the fruits. Harvesting green tomatoes won’t stimulate the plant to make more fruits because that function is related to air temperature and nutrient availability in soil.

What color should tomatoes be when you pick them?

Once the tomato reaches a stage when it’s about ½ green and ½ pink (called the ‘breaker stage’), the tomato can be harvested and ripened off the vine with no loss of flavor, quality or nutrition.