What can I do to ripen my tomatoes?

[tgsssl]

[align=left]I have a grape seed tomato kit that I purchased from Wal-Mart and planted back in late may. Up to this point the plant has had to be repotted several times because it has gotten so large, but that's not the best part; the grape tomatoes are the size of plum tomatoes and still growing. The problem is that none of them are red and I don't know what to do about it. None of the tomatoes appear to be going bad, and they are all still very firm to the touch (there are about 20 or 30 on the plant).[/align]
[align=left]Why are the tomatoes so large, and what can I do to get them to ripen to the point that I can pick them?[/align]
[align=left]Thanks in advance,[/align]
[align=left]Greg[/align]

[Newt]

Hi Tgsssl,

Do you have a name for the variety of tomato you planted?* As far as the size of the tomatoes not being the same as you expected, the label could have been switched and what you really have are plum tomatoes.* I've seen that happen many times.* From the looks of your plant it needs to be staked.*

You don't say what the weather has been, but if the temps are over 85*F the ripening will slow down as well as the growth.* You will just need to be patient.

Newt

[tgsssl]

[align=left]Thanks for the quick reply.[/align]
[align=left]The packet of seeds was sealed and simply stated, "Grape Seed Tomatoes" so I just assumed they were the correct seeds. As for the weather, it has been in the upper 80's to 90's and has broken 100 twice. This is my first year attempting to plant tomatoes so I wasn't aware that temperature was that much of a factor in growth.[/align]
[align=left]When it comes to staking, the seeds were sold as "Hanging" so I was letting them hang, but I never expected the plant to get this big considering the packet came with 16 seeds and this is the only seed that survived; do you think I should give it a try?[/align]

[Newt]

I think what you have are the mini-roma tomatoes.
http://www.burpee.com/product/vegeta...30+seeds%29.do
http://www.burpee.com/product/plants...rrivals&page=1

Since you have the pot on the table, go ahead and let them hang down.* After all, it's often a learning experience.* Oh, and roma tomatoes tend to take longer to ripen and they also have a thicker skin.* Does the packet say how many days to ripen?* Any seed company name on the packet so we can look for a site for them?

In searching for info with the name you gave me, I only found recipes and they all say to cut them in half.

Newt

[kdg]

This is the first year I have planted a grape tomato, but mine is in the ground.* It got to well over 6' tall and I pruned it down.* It is loaded, and I mean loaded with bunches of grape tomatoes.* If yours aren't in bunches (like grapes)it is something other than a grape tomato.* Each bunch has 4-10 tomatoes and they are not ripening properly either.* The blossom end gets ripe, but the stem end doesn't & their skins are thicker also.* It is so heavy that I now have 6 stakes holding the wire cage up.* But the flavor is still great & we are only eating the bottom half.

[kyle82]

yeah there maybe a factor about the thick or thin kind of a tomato to plant but it still more dependent with a regular watering... and of course enuf sunlight at the time ur planting them would be necessary... water them a lot since tomatoes are watery veggies..