Might be the variety...?

Some hybrids are bred for shipping so they may be harder than heirlooms.

Have you tasted some? Personally I don't like soft tomatoes. I'd consider them over ripe.

Thanks everyone. Maybe I'm just being impatient. They got a slow start. But they're just so red! The outer portions of the tomatoes taste okay, but I have to cut out the centers because they are really tough and unripe. I'll try to be patient and hope the animals/birds aren't attracted to them before I pick them fully ripe.

Have you tried ripening them in a paper bag or wrapped in newspaper?

Temperature variations during the developing process can cause red, but unripe tomatoes. Did you have a very hot period like most of us did? Or fertilize too generously?

Thanks rhizo.........actually, I just read that too and was coming here to mention it! We haven't gotten severely hot yet (but just starting to), but our temps have really fluctuated all summer long. I read that that can cause them to be very red, but have very hard skins. I'm trying to get them ready to freeze, so there's a lot of them for a paper bag, but I could probably put them on a couple big trays and cover them with a towel? Plus, I dunk them in boiling water to help remove the skins before I cut them up to freeze, and that would probably help soften them too. Thanks again!

Someone above asked about variety ,do you know? Without facts to go on my wag is plants were started with seed saved from a prior crop. Seed from hybrid plants never come true and heirloom plants can get pollen from another variety or even plants in the wild. If either happens you wind up with tomatoes like Forest Gump's box of chocolates .

I'm growing Rutgers and romas. (from Bonnie's).

Hi again everyone. Well, my Romas are still rock hard. Some have been hanging out on my dining room table for at least a week, and instead of getting softer, they just start to rot. So.....I'm going to cut them up and freeze them (after mashing them) and I'll cut out the hard cores. These are in raised food-grade stock tanks. Is it possible that I've not let them dry out long enough, in between waterings? I've heard they ripen faster if dry. I think it's just a funky year for everything. I sure hope climate change doesn't make gardening impossible. Yes, I'm a fatalist. But for now, I'm still enjoying my garden. Although my cucumbers are done, so I'm having separation anxiety. ;)

Are both Romas and Rutgers turning out this way? If so it has to be environmental but I've never heard of it previously. If one is fine while the other is hard with unpalatable center I'd suspect it to be genetic. If I had this happen I would reach out to Bonnie for expert input. You did remove seed from factory sealed package and start your transplants??????? If seed or transplants were given or sold to you by a third party I would be suspicious of the source.

I remember a half dozen years ago I had a lot of tomatoes that appeared to be ripe by the color but when cut them open the flesh under the red skin was still green or white and the tomatoes were hard. I spent some time looking for the reason and did find the answer but I've forgot what it was. It did have a name.

What is the inside of your hard red tomatoes like?

Klem....I bought Bonnie roma plants. My Rutgers aren't as bad and seem to be reasonably ripened, although the plants had few tomatoes. I contacted Bonnie at the beginning of the season, when my Roma plants were growing strangely (the green stems/leaves). They said it was weather related. The Romas this year are huge, compared to what I'm used to.

Kevin.......These are very red outside and inside, except for the main "vein" through them and it is light yellow and VERY tough. I was tired of waiting on the ones I have here in the house to soften, so I put them in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes, then cut them up. I had to cut the better ripened stuff away from that tough main core. These are for freezing.

I have been wondering if I've just been too impatient to let them ripen on the vines, They were growing about 3 months when I first picked them. I did fertilize them with Dr. Earth OMRI tomato fertilizer. I used what I was supposed to. But these are huge for Romas. It's all very curious. I've been gardening for 50 years and I've never encountered this before. Maybe it IS the fluctuating temps. Who knows. It's just weird though.