As many of us on the Lower Mainland are growing tomatoes (and a big percentage of everyone gardening in Canada) today, we wanted to give you a few tips for extending your tomato harvesting season.

Leave them alone

Some of us start to panic when evening temperatures start to drop, but your tomatoes are still fine if the temperature is over five (5) degrees Celsius at night. Yes, 5. In the interior of BC, people start growing tomatoes outside, in place at that temperature in the spring. So, even if it only gets to be 18-20 during the day, leave your tomatoes alone, and let them keep growing.

Rain

It’s okay if it rains on them. Unless you are starting to have heavy rain every single day, don’t worry about some rain. A lot of rain increases the risk of cracking, but some varieties are prone to cracking anyway. If the daily temperatures are still reasonable, but we are experiencing day after day of heavy rain, then you can try to cover them to limit the heavy rain on them. This won’t work forever, but it could buy you a few days or a week or two.

Pick early

We do not have to pick tomatoes on the last possible day. Pick early. Tomatoes go through a stage called “mature green.” When the tomatoes are shiny (no velvet), translucent, and just starting to blush, pick them! They don’t need anything special to ripen: no sun, no paper bags, no refrigeration. Just leave them on a table or counter, and if they have passed the mature green stage, they will fully ripen and taste just as good. The difference in taste between picking early and late is negligible for most people. It’s a myth that your tomatoes will be 10 times sweeter if you pick them the last day. That is not true.

In the attached photo, one of our clients picked all her tomatoes when the weather deteriorated rapidly a couple of years ago. Every one of those tomatoes ripened and was delicious. See? 

Art Knapp has 15 locations across British Columbia and is well known as the go-to garden centre for everything garden-related. Art Knapp, himself, began the business in the 1940's, and now, 80 years later, you can find more than he ever dreamed of in our stores. Come and see us on King George Boulevard in Surrey. 

If you have any questions about this article or want to talk to us about gardening, just give us a call at (604) 596-9201.