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Monty Don's simple August task to help your tomatoes 'fully ripen' this month

A few simple tasks will help ensure tomatoes are fully ripe this August

[organic cherry tomatoes in home garden]

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Monty Don has an easy task to ripen tomatoes(Image: Ekaterina Vasileva-Bagler via Getty Images)

Tomatoes are a firm favourite among gardeners, and harvest time is nearly upon us. Many will have spent months carefully keeping a close eye on their progress, doing everything in their power to ensure their plants thrive.

Gardening expert Monty Don has urged growers to carry out a handful of straightforward tasks this month to guarantee their tomatoes ripen fully and deliver the best possible harvest. After months of patient tending, it's well worth taking the extra time to follow Monty Don's advice.

He says the prime harvesting period can be extended and that any green tomatoes still on the vine will ripen fully.

Writing on his blog, the expert said: "Tomatoes are coming up to their prime harvesting period, but to extend this and make sure that all the current green tomatoes fully ripen over the coming month or so, there are a few things the tomato grower should do now."

[cherry tomatoes on the vine]

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You can encourage green tomatoes to ripen(Image: Kilito Chan via Getty Images)

He recommended removing the lower leaves from each plant to allow the tomato fruits greater access to direct sunlight and airflow. Monty explained: "The first is to strip off the bottom half of the leaves on each plant.

"This will let in light and air so that the growing fruits get more sun, and also the extra ventilation will reduce the risk of disease. This process can be continued weekly until there are no leaves left at all."

Monty also advised easing back on watering the tomato plants, unless temperatures are particularly high.

This year has proved tricky due to the hot weather, but on slightly cooler days, growers can take full advantage of the respite.

He advised: "Reduce the watering unless it is very hot to avoid the fruit splitting, but keep up a weekly feed of liquid seaweed or, if you can make it, home-made comfrey feed. Both are ideal for maximising flower and fruit production."

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), tomatoes will begin to ripen from mid-summer onwards, with the timing largely dependent on the variety, prevailing weather conditions and the size of the fruit.

Cherry tomatoes tend to ripen considerably faster than their larger counterparts. The RHS advised: "Check plants every few days and pick tomatoes individually, with the stalk still attached, as soon as they're ripe and fully coloured."

There's no need to panic if your tomatoes haven't fully ripened by the time the growing season draws to a close, as there are still ways to encourage them along.

The RHS added: "At the end of the growing season, lift outdoor plants with unripe fruit and either lay them on straw under cloches to ripen or pick the fruits and place somewhere warm and dark to ripen.

"Alternatively, put unripe tomatoes in a drawer with a banana to aid ripening."

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