Worried about your produce ripening in time In zone 4 Minnesota this is certainly on my mind An easy hack is to snip off the growing tips of your tomatoes peppers squash and pumpkins 1 month before your expected first frost This forces the plant to divert its energy into ripening its current fruit rather than putting out new growth This will also help with the overall health of your plant By now they may be unruly so by removing some of the excess growth and small fruit your plant will be more stable and less chaotic Lastly thinning out the plant will improve air circulation which will reduce the risk of disease.