August 13 :: Lycopene, anyone?

Ripe peppers from the greenhouse and raised beds

Welcome back!

In May we purchased 18 pepper plant seedlings, six plants each of three varieties: Jalapeño, Chili Red, and Red Beauty. The plants are loaded with peppers, all maturing at different rates depending on variety. This being a new experience for me, i was concerned that all the peppers seemed full size and ready, but the two types that were supposed to be turning red weren't doing so.

Turns out that peppers stay on the vine for a while before turning red pretty quickly. You can eat any pepper variety while it is green, and only some varieties turn red at all. I was picking the jalapeños while they were green but then i checked the plants one day to find a red one! I didn't even know they turned red! Did you know that a chipotle pepper is merely a red jalapeño that has been smoked? Amazing!

Red and green jalapeños

Turning our attention to tomatoes, i just read the most interesting thing on GardeningKnowHow.com. Get a load of this:

"Another factor in how long it takes for a tomato to turn red is the outside temperature. Tomatoes will only produce lycopene and carotene, two substances that help a tomato turn red, between the temperatures of 50F and 85F. If it is any cooler that 50F, those tomatoes will stay a stubborn green. Any warmer than 85F and the process that produces lycopene and carotene comes to a screeching halt. Tomatoes are triggered to turn red by a chemical called ethylene. Ethylene is odorless, tasteless and invisible to the naked eye. When the tomato reaches the proper green mature stage, it starts to produce ethylene. The ethylene then interacts with the tomato fruit to start the ripening process. Consistent winds can carry the ethylene gas away from the fruit and slow the ripening process."

This is why if a tomato falls off the vine or the branch of tomatoes comes off while you are harvesting you can ripen the green tomatoes on your windowsill or kitchen table as long as they are mature enough to produce ethylene and the conditions are right: warm enough temperature and a breathable, lose covering to trap the ethylene. A paper bag does the trick!

If you have tomatoes that are ripening faster than you can eat them and are about to go bad, tuck them into your fridge (exposed them to the air rather than in a bag or container which will trap the ripening agent). Only refrigerate a tomato that is already ripe, otherwise it'll never ripen if it is kept below 50 degrees!

Sweet Chelsea cherry tomato plant

Enjoy the harvest, visit your local farmer's market today!

Grow on,

Tyler