A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Ripening tomatos on a window sill.

I have tons of tomatoes this year but for some reason they aren't as sweet as they should be. Frost is right around the corner so I picked some that are still green but starting to turn pinkish. My mother in law puts hers on a window sill and claims they taste just like the vine ripened ones. I on the other hand tried putting mine in a paper bag a few years ago but found they were very acidic when they turned red. With the sour acidic taste they weren't suitable for canning either? Does putting them in a bright sunny window activate some enzyme that makes them turn red and taste good or is it all the same, once picked it doesn't matter where you have them, in a bag or on a sill?

We've always done ours in a paper bag on the kitchen counter and they've ripened nicely. As long as they were picked before the frost.

Well of course..........
DOnt let them touch each other.
Never taste as good as fresh tho.

Don't let them touch each other?? Just curious, is there a reason?

Sometimes they get bad spots where they touch,likely because of lack of air circulation and mold or bacteria forming. I feel like indirect sunlight does help ripening, like a north or east window, or even on the counter where reflected light can reach them. Only my opinion.
One thing that doesn't help, though, is putting them together with an apple or other fruit, the ethane gas that ripens these doesn't have significant affect on tomatoes.

Touching each other encourages rot.
Like they say one rotten apple will spoil the whole bunch.. (OR anything else)

Did you notice when you buy fancy fruit, each one is either rapped or in a large type of cup cake paper? Thats one reason it is done...Looks cute is 2nd reason.