{"id":5604,"date":"2016-08-10T14:25:46","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T18:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/?p=5604"},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:03:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T14:03:48","slug":"pick-tomatoes-frequently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2016\/08\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Pick Tomatoes Frequently"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pick tomatoes frequently…and not just because they’re delicious! You can use them immediately in recipes (like my South of the Border Salad<\/a> or others) or can them into tomato sauce or juice<\/a>. Letting ripe tomatoes linger too long on the vine? Here\u2019s why that\u2019s a missed opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"cherry
Cherry tomatoes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"tomatoes
Pick tomatoes frequently for an abundant harvest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"a
Roma tomatoes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick Tomatoes Frequently to Encourage Tomato Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you pick tomatoes frequently, you encourage the plant to produce more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomato plants are biologically wired to reproduce. When fruit ripens and is picked, the plant responds by channeling energy into producing more blooms and fruit to complete its life cycle. But if ripe tomatoes are left on the vine, the plant assumes its job is done, and production slows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d forgotten about this bit of garden wisdom. You see, tomato and other plants that produce “fruits” do so as part of their reproductive cycle. The tomato is the seed container for the tomato plant. When you slice open a tomato, you can see the tiny seeds inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you pick the fruits or flowers, the plant senses the loss. All living things strive to reproduce, sharing their genes so that their genetic material can live on. It’s the energy of life, the push to reproduce. Among plants, it’s what we, as gardeners, can harness to encourage an abundance in our gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By harvesting regularly, you’re essentially \u201cresetting\u201d that reproductive drive, prompting the plant to keep flowering and fruiting throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pick tomatoes frequently…and not just because they’re delicious! You can use them immediately in recipes (like my South of the Border Salad or others) or can them into tomato sauce or juice. Letting ripe tomatoes linger too long on the vine? Here\u2019s why that\u2019s a missed opportunity. Pick Tomatoes Frequently to Encourage Tomato Production When…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[588],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vegetable-garden","8":"post_format-post-format-image","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nWhy You Should Pick Tomatoes Frequently - Home Garden Joy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the importance of picking tomatoes frequently to boost your harvest and enjoy fresh vegetables every day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2016\/08\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why You Should Pick Tomatoes Frequently\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the importance of picking tomatoes frequently to boost your harvest and enjoy fresh vegetables every day.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2016\/08\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Garden Joy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sevenoaksgardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jeanne.grunert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-10T18:25:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T14:03:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Tomatoes-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WriterGrunert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WriterGrunert\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeanne\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a4a2d7c5e897228f42be953553e4140\"},\"headline\":\"Why You Should Pick Tomatoes Frequently\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-10T18:25:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T14:03:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\"},\"wordCount\":262,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/Tomatoes-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Vegetable Gardening\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homegardenjoy.com\\\/site\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/pick-tomatoes-frequently.html\",\"name\":\"Why You Should Pick Tomatoes Frequently - 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