By Judylb
Channel Islands ,
Jersey 
Hello everyone, I have one of the small, walk in green plastic covered frame green houses. I've grown six fully grown tomato plants with quite a lot of tomatoes grown to full size now. However, although we've had lots of sunny days in Jersey they remain green. I've rolled the plastic door as high as I can to allow sunlight to get in but it doesn't hit the plants. I haven't moved them to a lower shelf because it's a community area where we have dogs, cats, slugs ! and kids. Will the tomatoes eventually rippen and turn red or can I now cut off the vines and get them to rippen outside of the greenhouse in direct sun ? Thanking you for any advice.
4 Aug, 2015
Answers
sometimes putting a ripe babana in with them helps them to ripen. the natural gas ripening fruit produces helps the other fruits to ripen. [I think the gas is ethylene cant remember off the top of my head]
4 Aug, 2015
Yep, Seaburngirl, its ethylene...
4 Aug, 2015
Unfortunately this type of small polytunnel prevents as much sunlight getting through to the plants so getting your tomatoes to ripen could be a challenge. We use something similar, though larger for some of our alpine plants that do not appreciate getting wet in winter but would not expect to grow and veg in.
4 Aug, 2015
Thank you everyone for your answers. I shall try the banana trick first, as I have heard that before. If not I'll try lowering the plants down to the lower shelves, thanks again.
4 Aug, 2015
They need warmth more than sunshine.ethylene is the answer as Seaburn says - and you don't need a whole banana, just the skin will do as long as you replace it with a fresh one when it dries up. Alternatively leaving a ripe tomato close to one of the green ones will start them off. Don't remove the first ripe one before a second one has begun to turn red.
4 Aug, 2015
I would bring then on to a lower shelf and take out the higher one, it would give them more space and let the sun get at them, they should ripen still plenty of time.
4 Aug, 2015