As the days get shorter and grayer I'm getting a little desperate. Every day I visit my tomato garden and see green.

Sure, my cherry tomatoes and a variety called glacier have been ripening for weeks. But my romas and brandywines (left) are large, plump and completely green.

But, according to my friend Katie all I have to do is wait for a slight blush of color and then I can take ripening in to my own hands.

Katie sent me a primer on forced tomato ripening. It goes on about many different methods but here are the key points.

- Choose fruit that have a slight give or a hint of color.

- Tomatoes, like bananas, give off ethylene, a ripening gas. By grouping many together the tomatoes will ripen each other with this natural gas. You can use jars, cardboard boxes and bags. You can even throw in a ripe banana for more ethylene.

- Keep them in your house, out of direct sun and expect about two weeks to bring them to ripeness. Don't let them get too humid or too dry.