How do I harvest tomatoes?

Question:

How do I harvest tomatoes?

Answer:

The fruit of most tomato cultivars generally begins to ripen in August. Fruit production for early maturing cultivars such as ‘Early Girl’ or many of the cherry and grape tomatoes generally begins in mid- to late-July.

Tomatoes should be allowed to ripen fully on the plant. Pick carefully from the plant when the entire fruit is a uniform color.  When ripe, the fruit will be slightly soft to the touch, rather than firm or hard like unripe green tomatoes.  The fruit of most cultivars is red when fully ripe. However, in hot weather the fruit of red-fruited cultivars is often yellow-orange. The red pigments in tomato fruit don’t form well when temperatures are above 90°F.