Green Tomatoes

Don’t let those green tomatoes go to waste with the first fall frost. Collect a few green tomatoes to enjoy fried or ripen them indoors.

You can pick any tomatoes that are starting to show color before the first killing frost and finish ripening them indoors.  The blossom end should be greenish white or starting to color up. Store them in a cool, 60 to 65 degree, location to extend their storage life. 

Spread the tomatoes out onto heavy paper or wrap them in newspaper, so the fruit do not touch. They will ripen over the next few weeks.  Speed up the process by moving a few tomatoes to a bright warm location a few days before they’re needed.

Harvest green tomatoes for frying, relish, and other tasty treats.  Fellow gardeners, websites and cook books have a variety of recipes you may want to try.

A bit more information:  Next season consider growing some short season tomatoes like Fourth of July that start producing fruit earlier in the season. Extend your enjoyment by growing a few tomato varieties such as Garden Peach, Golden Treasure, Long Keeper and Reverend Morrow’s Long Keeper that last longer in storage. You can harvest when ripe or when the skin starts to turn the color of that tomato variety.  The tomatoes will continue to slowly ripen indoors and can last for over 3 months in storage.