Hello, I love to garden but need some advice please.... My tomatoes are still quite green due to the poor weather. I've been told to top the main stem and to remove all the leaves on the plant to help the tomatoes ripen. Is this what everyone recommends doing at this time of the year? Please advise. Thank you!
Topping them will certainly help them ripen faster. Your tomatoe plants will then put their energy into ripening the existing tomatoes rather than growing more.
I certainly wouldn't remove them all. Myself, I never remove leaves. I know some people do, but I don't think it is really necessary. As you live in Richmond, you still have lots of time for the tomatoes to ripen.
I would top the plants and remove any leaves that are shading the tomatoes but leave maybe half the leaves on each plant. I am going to have dozens of green tomatoes this year and have just read that if you put a ripening banana in a paper bag with the green tomatoes they should ripen. Who knows but may be worth trying.
