Picking your tomatoes when they are just starting to color up prevents them from being damaged (birds, squirrels, stink bugs, splitting from rains...). The fruit will ripen just fine off the plant and the flavor is just the same as if you had allowed the fruit to ripen on the plant. The current theory is that once the fruit is at color break the plant more or less stops feeding that fruit anyway so you may as well harvest it.

Rodney

The least bit pink, pick and bring inside. Otherwise, you are going to let the mockingbirds have them. After they start to turn, they will still be good.

cherry tomatoes stay on the vine until ripe. heirlooms get harvested when they start coloring up.

Thanks! I do get cracking and stuff getting at them (not typically an issue for me) so I understand picking early. I thought nothing gets sweeter when picked - it may ripen but not get sweeter.

I leave the cherries on the vine until ripe. I used to leave the Heirlooms on the vine until ripe but ended up with split vines, a lot of fruit on the ground/wasted fruit, so this year I'm trying to get them when they semi-ripe but not fully ripe and finishing them on the windowsill in the house. This is working much better -- I still have cracking and some holes but no damage that can't be overlooked (i.e. the insects haven't discovered them yet).