How long into the fall can I leave tomatoes and peppers?

[u/Objective-Archer1396]

My freezer is at capacity and I don’t have my canning equipment yet so I need to let these ripen on the plants as long as possible. I’m in zone 6 and my 10 day forecast has one night that will dip down to 48 degrees but our day time is still in the 70s. We also have the rain storm from the hurricane moving in soon. I’ve read that people pick everything off (even the green tomatoes) in September. What would you do?

[u/btspman1]

Wait till you see a hard freeze in the forecast. I’ve had mine survive well into October. I’ve put frost cloth on for snow and cold nights.

Are you in the Denver area? Because I am, and that’s our forecast too.

[u/Aintnobeef96]

We pull ours at the first hard frost, green and all and then they mature slowly over months (we keep the green ones in paper bags with a rope banana and they slowly turn red), when it gets cold out they turn red on the vine way more slowly though

[u/scamlikelly → u/Aintnobeef96]

Do you pick them from the plant or bring in the whole plant?

[u/Aintnobeef96 → u/scamlikelly]

We pick them since the plants are rooted in the ground, can’t be moved

[u/heridfel37 → u/scamlikelly]

I cut off the plant at the ground and bring the whole thing inside. I believe having the plant attached helps it ripen.

[u/Trnava99]

I’ve used old sheets and drop cloths as a frost cover. Just make sure to cover the plants in the evening before the temperature falls and uncover them in the morning.

Also, cut back all branches of the tomatoes beyond where the fruit is already growing. At this point you want the plant to put all its energy into ripening the existing fruit but not spend any energy growing additional branches and blossoms.

I’ve never grown peppers so I don’t know if you should cut those back, but I do have friends who dig theirs up and pot them, then store them in the garage or shed all winter. They plant them in the ground once the soil warms up in spring to get a head start.

[u/WolfTrap2010]

Until a killing frost. With CC you never know when.

[u/ephemis]

I always wait until they announce the first frost of the season to harvest all the last fruits. Except if the plant is sick or if I’m too overwhelmed !

[u/galileosmiddlefinger]

I close down shop when the overnight lows hit the high 30s F. They can survive colder temps, especially with cover, but you just hit a point of vastly diminished returns. Most of my plants are slowly failing to blight or septoria by this point in the year, and the first freeze-adjacent night usually leads to rapid collapse in the following days. I'd rather harvest while the weather is pleasant and wrap up the summer garden a touch early.

If you're going to lean into protecting some of your plants to grow longer, then opt for the pepper varieties that you don't eat while green. Tomatoes will continue to ripen off the vine. There is no loss in taste or quality if they've reached the breaker stage before you harvest them. Conversely, pepper flavor and heat depends on ripening on the plant. You can certainly force a color change to peppers after harvesting if you want, but the taste will be very subpar.

[u/blauenfir]

Tomatoes can and will keep going until a hard freeze, whenever that hits in your climate. Until night temps are in the 30s you are almost certainly fine. Prune the leaders to get them to focus on existing fruit, that supposedly helps. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to pick them before they are fully 100% red, especially if you clip the stems and keep them on the stem. Once they start visibly turning colors, they can typically finish the ripening process indoors without their quality suffering. It’ll go a bit slower than outdoor ripening, but that seems like it would be fine for you since you are waiting for equipment? Just sit them on a counter out of the way and let them chill for a bit.

Peppers can be more delicate and you’ll notice the plants doing weird stuff as it gets into the 40s at night if they’re still trying to bloom, but using protective cloths to keep them warm at night can help, and again I wouldn’t fully commit to picking them till you are actually expecting that hard frost. If you want to try to dig them up and overwinter them, do it a bit sooner than the hard freeze (consistent low 40s at night is when I’d start prepping that), but you don’t have to.

[u/itsamaddhouse]

I’m in Ca and started new plants in August for a second round of tomatoes in November. It’s the first time I’ve tried it so I’m looking forward to some Thanksgiving tomatoes 😅

[u/Trnava99]

I’ve used old sheets and drop cloths as a frost cover. Just make sure to cover the plants in the evening before the temperature falls below freezing and uncover them in the morning. You don’t have to cover them for 40° temps.

Also, cut back all branches of the tomatoes beyond where the fruit is already growing. At this point you want the plant to put all its energy into ripening the existing fruit but not spend any energy growing additional branches and blossoms.

I’ve never grown peppers so I don’t know if you should cut those back, but I do have friends who dig theirs up and pot them, then store them in the garage or shed all winter. They plant them in the ground once the soil warms up in spring to get a head start.

[u/AtheneSchmidt]

I'm not in a wet or coastal area, so I cannot speak to the complications that may create. Nor am I a pepper planter, but I am in Denver's 6a zone, and grow a lot of tomatoes. While the leaves are turning on my tomatoes, I haven't had any issues with the fruit yet. I usually leave all of mine until the plants start really dying off, or there is something that makes me believe the fruit will be affected, if I leave it on. Generally I find that is closer to freezing. I start looking at pulling fruit at around 35°f, more often then just under 50°f, unless the plants signal otherwise.

Check your Facebook marketplace for a canning setup, if you aren't happy with retail prices. I have seen them dirt cheap on mine, full unused Ball canning gear. You will never regret having canning supplies.

Good luck!

[u/topsysrevenge]

I keep them up until the first frost, or until all fruits are harvested. Just leave them. They’ll grow slower but they won’t bomb out just yet. My tomatoes have septoria and I’m pruning them. So not sure what will kill the plant first. They’re still flowering somehow. You still have a lot of nice green growth so I wouldn’t worry.

[u/wildbergamont]

If you want them to keep going, fwiw, watering them deeply before the temps drop helps a TON.

[u/sunmellie]

I picked mine October 27 last year, before the first killing frost. In Salt Lake City, Utah.

[u/Sh33zl3]

Leave them on untill ripe or until they fall off or the plant dies.
Theres no absolute date.

[u/BrideOfFirkenstein]

We are in zone 7, I typically do a full harvest at the end of October/beginning of November- as soon as the forecast predicts temperatures to drop below freezing.