It's absolutely OK to harvest green tomato fruits. Doing so won't hurt the plant, and it won't hurt the fruits. Harvesting green tomatoes won't stimulate the plant to make more fruits because that function is related to air temperature and nutrient availability in soil.
Green tomatoes will continue to ripen after they've been pulled from the vine. You can speed up the ripening process by placing green tomatoes with other tomatoes that are in the process of ripening. You can also place them with fruit, such as a yellow banana or apple that hasn't finished ripening.
A tomato picked early and ripened on your counter will be just as good as one left on the plant. … Hard green tomatoes will not ripen to satisfaction indoors, but tomatoes that are beginning to soften and blush red (or yellow, or purple, or whatever the ripe color will be) will do just fine.
about 6-8 weeks Tomato ripening time depends on a few things, like the variety of tomato you have, and your growing zone. But in general, they should begin turning red about 6-8 weeks after the flowers are pollinated.
Near the end of the season you can use a red plastic mulch around the plants to hasten ripening. Finally, watch the weather forecast. If temperatures are falling below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C.), start pulling the green ones and ripen them indoors.
The best time to pick tomatoes from your plants is when they just begin to turn color. … But plucking that tomato early also helps your tomato plant. Although the tomato is not using nutrients from the plant, it can slow the production and ripening process for additional tomatoes.
Another reason to pick before a tomato is ripe is to avoid splitting. If you're having a particularly rainy week, and your tomatoes are pretty close to being ripe and/or are already starting to split a little, I recommend that you go ahead and pick them before any more rain comes in.
As we learned above, tomato plants grown in temperatures below 50° F will result in tomatoes staying green. When the temperature is expected to fall below 50° F, and shows no sign of warming up, pick any tomatoes that are glossy green, greenish white or starting to go pink and bring them indoors for ripening inside.
The best time to pick tomatoes from your plants is when they just begin to turn color. First and foremost, it keeps the tomato from becoming damaged from insects, animals, sun-spots, and even wind or summer storms.