Hi, Kathy, Nice going!
• Yes, prune off new blossoms. And clip vigorous new shoot, too—bu do not remove an excess of foliage, as these help to provide nutrients to the fruit. Ripening a lot of fruit takes a lot of energy and may slow the ripening of the entire crop.
• Check your earliest frost date ( http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states/KS/Dodge%20City ) an in the weeks prior, begin to remove the most mature fruit to ripen in doors. Because the red tomato pigments lycopene and carotene are not produced at temps about 85°F (but not belw 50°F), the cooler weather that usually comes at end of summer should help to bring on the red color.
• In later Sept, as night time temps run to around 50°F, you can cover the plants if there are tomatoes still trying to turn red and give them a few more days. But at this time (or sooner, if you prefer), remove green ones to ripen indoors.
Your local weather conditions and specific plants are your key determinants here. Better to bring them in to ripen than risk losing even one.
Hi, Kathy, Nice going!
• Yes, prune off new blossoms. And clip vigorous new shoot, too—bu do not remove an excess of foliage, as these help to provide nutrients to the fruit. Ripening a lot of fruit takes a lot of energy and may slow the ripening of the entire crop.
• Check your earliest frost date ( http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states/KS/Dodge%20City ) an in the weeks prior, begin to remove the most mature fruit to ripen in doors. Because the red tomato pigments lycopene and carotene are not produced at temps about 85°F (but not belw 50°F), the cooler weather that usually comes at end of summer should help to bring on the red color.
• In later Sept, as night time temps run to around 50°F, you can cover the plants if there are tomatoes still trying to turn red and give them a few more days. But at this time (or sooner, if you prefer), remove green ones to ripen indoors.
Your local weather conditions and specific plants are your key determinants here. Better to bring them in to ripen than risk losing even one.