Yellow pear tomatoes not ripening

[Paul M. Cook]

What's up with that? Week after week they just hang here and nothing changes. The plant is putting out a pretty fair number of buds and I see new fruit all over it. But the oldest fruit which is almost full size just stays green week after week.

It has been hot here in SoCal - days in the mid 90s and nights about 68-72. I water them heavily two times a day and that may have to be 3 at the rate they seem to need it.

My celebrities also do not seem to be in any hurry to ripen. In fact some of the oldest ones I just had to cut off due to brown rot on the bottom half. Cutting them open showed they were full of brown goo inside.

[bungadora]

Have you cut open any of the yellow pear tomatoes? Because if they are changing color in the inside, pick some of the larger fruit and ripen them indoors.

You might also try putting shade cloth over your plants to reduce the heat and light.

Dora

[Zootal]

The temps here are upper 80s, sometimes low 90s. And I water my toms maybe every 5 days. If you are watering them heavily twice a day, you are badly over-watering them.

Pear tomatoes, especially yellow, will sit there, big, fat, and green for a long time, until they are ready to turn yellow. Then one day you have a bazillion yellow toms. Quit watering them so much and leave them alone. They will ripen when they are ready.

[Wild Billy]

I watched my "yellow pear" tomatoes for 6 weeks last year waiting for them to change color. Water deeply every 3 days, and think about something else.

[Paul M. Cook]

They severely wilt if not watered at least 2 times a day. If they do not get a night watering they are badly wilted by noon the next day. I should mention these are in pots. Today was 100F.

I certainly can wait but not watering as much will kill them. I'm going to move them to a place where they get less sun and earlier shade.

Paul

[bungadora]

How big are the pots? If they are drying out that quickly, you might want to look at putting them in larger containers next year. Dora

[Paul M. Cook]

How big are the pots? If they are drying out that quickly, you might want to look at putting them in larger containers next year.

The pots are 22 inches in diameter and about 18 inches deep. They hold 2 cubic feet of soil. Next year I won't double up on the seedlings per pot. I did 2 each this year. But it is very hot and very dry here and I have noticed that even some plants, like my peppers, wilt despite having moist soil. I understand that the plant is losing water faster than it can absorb it. So I am planting much earlier next year, no later than February.

Paul

[bungadora]

You might also look at earlier maturing varieties, or stagger your plantings so they mature before and after the hot season. And yeah. One plant per pot if it is going to be so stinking hot. Dora