Size-wise, the tomatoes are perfect. Look at that one I’m holding in the picture. It’s a black Russian, and it’s one of several that size. Unfortunately it also one of several that has yet to ripen.

Our outdoor tomatoes have ripened quite nicely, but the ones we’re growing in the greenhouse are as green as tomato leaves.

At this time of year, your last few greenies need all the help they can get, and you really need to focus the plants’ attention on their fruits and not their foliage.

Looking at the greenhouse earlier today, you can see that the vines had plenty of distractions:

The tomato plants are quite bushy, with lots of leaves surrounding the tomatoes. In fact, there were so many leaves that it was only when I started to trim them back that I realised two of the vines had no tomatoes on them at all.

That’s quite a poor state of affairs.

So I have given them quite a serious cutting back, taking off most of the leaves from each plant to focus their attention on sending all of their nutrients to the tomatoes in a last dash effort to get them ripening before the end of the season.

Right now it’s make or break time, but even if it doesn’t work I’m pleased with the extra space we now have in the greenhouse after the trim back:

Related posts:

1. The first tomatoes of 2008
2. The tomatoes are ripening
3. Green tomatoes