Harvest and Store Tomatoes

Tomatoes do a pretty good job of telling you when they are ready for harvest.

Warm days and warm nights are ideal not only for ripening tomatoes but for developing the very best flavor.  Although there is not much you can do about it, the perfect temperature for ripening is from about 68 to 77 degrees F.  If the weather becomes unusually hot or cool, the ripening process can slow or stop.

To produce a meaty and flavorful tomato instead of overly juicy you may want to back of watering a bit just before they ripen.  Once your tomatoes are fully red they are ready for harvest.  Wait until there is no hint of green but they should plump and still firm. 

There are a couple of reasons you may sometimes want to, or need to, harvest early.  Inconsistent rain can cause cracking and some heirloom tomatoes are rather thin skinned and more prone to cracking.  If your tomatoes are showing signs of cracking, harvest just after they have begun to blush.  They don’t need sunlight to ripen and will ripen just fine and your kitchen counter.  Expected frost may also force you to harvest the last of your tomato crop early.  If they have even just begun to blush, they will ripen on the counter.

Storing your harvest properly is very important.  Do not be tempted to store them in the refrigerator hoping that they will store longer.  Storing tomatoes below 55 degrees will degrade the flavor and texture.  Pile your beautiful tomatoes in a centerpiece bowl.  If you have a large crop some may need to be stored for a bit, 60 degrees is ideal for the longest storage of your tomatoes.

If you harvested green tomatoes that need to be stored a while, keep them dry and dark in a heavy brown paper bag, or wrap them in plenty of newspaper.  Then store in a cool, dry, dark place.

If you are lucky enough to have an enormous harvest that is hard to store for fresh eating,  get canning or cooking!