Donn--the tomatoes have to be ready to ripen even tho they are still green I piced a lot of them about 2 weeks ago and put them in brown paper bags and kept them in the kitchen ---they are all ripe now Don't put them too deep in the bag in case one starts to rot , you want to be able to find it and take it out. the ones that are starting to lighten up in color are the best to try . Don't keep them toocool they like heat to ripen Paula