Picking tomatoes green

[nes]

So sorry I'm sure this has been answered a million times but I'm running around like a maniac today .

My tomatoes came in VERY late and are just now the size that I want. It's getting pretty cold.

It's ok to pick green tomatoes, they will ripped on the counter right?

I just need them to be the right size & shape?

Thanks guys!

[stella1751]

There are all kinds of rules for ripening tomatoes. My elderly garden friend tells me to wrap mine in newspaper and put them in my unheated basement, where it never gets below 50. I'm lazy, though. I put them in the fridge, filling shelves and drawers and whatever. They ripen in there; it just takes a little longer, so I generally have tomatoes four to six weeks after the freeze. The ones I want to eat first go on the counter, though

[nes]

hmmm. Thanks for the info stella! I had one that turned and I know the rest are JUST about it. I just don't want to get caught in a frost and end up with no tomatoes .

I'm also having a ground-rot problem (I determined for sure it's not BER) because someone did not prop up her tomatoes properly and they are laying on the ground . I was running around today because I'm doing a major overhaul on the fall garden. I picked up all the tomato plants, laid down newspaper & replaced. Hopefully that is going to help. Unfortunately I ran out of newspaper .

The tomatoes that are really green don't get rotten at all, it's just as they start to ripen and get soft that they are rotting.

I really learned my lesson about trellising!!!!

[TZ -OH6]

I usually wait until the day before frost is predicted and then pick everything and bring it in. If it has any color at all it will ripen just fine on the counter top over the next week or so. The true green ones may or may not ripen over time depending on how mature they are. You can extend this time by keeping them a little cooler than room temp. Spacing them out in a single layer on newspaper so that none are touching helps prevent rotting/lets you see the ones that do start to rot.

Personally, after a season of good tomatoes I rather do without than eat stored tomatoes. Cool weather end of season tomatoes just don't taste as good and it depresses me.


The smaller immature green tomatoes get frozen. I sautee them with onions and garlic when I make pork chops.

[cynthia_h]

Immature green tomatoes can also be pickled, at least according to Joy of Cooking. Maybe this will keep the taste of your summer garden alive for a little longer once frost and snow begin.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Diane]

I'm glad you asked this question Nes because half of my tomatoes are still green on the vines and the weather is getting cooler here too.

TZ I'm going to try your recipe. It sounds good. Better to eat fresh green than tough red.

Every year I wind up with tough skinned tomatoes once the green tomatoes ripen.
I looked up this question and am going to try all of the suggestions.
The last minute one , once a frost is due, is to pull the plant, trim all of the leaves and hang the plant in your basement and the tomatoes should ripen.

[Diane]

It worked!
I put two apples in a bowl of green tomatoes last week , then put the bowl in a plastic bag and tied it shut.
Today I checked and four of the very green tomatoes had a streak of pink/orange color.

[applestar]

I've tried pickling green tomatoes two different ways -- lacto-fermenting and in sweet vinegar brine much like Bread and Butter pickles. They're not ready to eat yet though.

Also, I've adapted a Green Tomato Salsa Verde recipe I found on-line. It turned out delicious! I love it so much I made extra batches and froze a whole bunch of them in 8 oz freezable jars. I don't know if the onions will hold up to the freezing though. I have a plant to make another batch, this time as a sort of a Salsa Verde starter mix so I can add fresh chopped onions before serving. I've been trying to think of a way to can this (the starter mix), but because the recipe calls for cooking the tomatoes and jalepenos together, I don't know if it's safe to hot water bath can them. What I'd *like* to do is cold pack can the tomatoes and jalepenos, seasoning with salt and using the lime juice in the recipe for acidity. Then all I need to do is add fresh chopped cilantro and onions with some ground black peppers before serving. Does that sound do-able?
(Hope I'm not thread-jacking, nes, if you prefer, I'll start another thread.)

[rainbowgardener]

Then of course there's always the famous Fried Green Tomatoes (rent the movie, it's worth seeing again!)

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5 green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt and pepper. Place the crushed saltine crackers in another bowl, and the beaten eggs in a third bowl.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip each tomato slice in the egg to coat, then in the flour mixture. Dip the floured tomato slice back into the egg, and then into the cracker crumbs. Place the coated tomato slices in the hot skillet, and fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add more butter to the pan, if necessary. Serve hot!

recipe from allrecipes.com

[applestar]

Ooh, good one! I tired making that the other day using sourdough batter mixed with beaten egg instead of just the egg as the wet dip, then seasoned flour. The sourdough batter REALLY stuck to the tomato slices and thoroughly coated them and imparted this wonderful flavor that complemented the green tomatoes very well.

[applestar]

I finally cleaned up the dying tomato plants in the Veg garden yesterday and got a 2 gal bucket-full of tomatoes of various hues -- hard green~ripe red.
Today, I cleaned up the tomatoes on the other side of the house...

I didn't realize, but apparently, I was playing a game that most of the tomatoes knew about, called "Salvageable Tomatoes." They were very good at it too, even though they have never in their lives played this game before. In case you're not familiar with the game, this is how you play: I call out (or at least THINK in my head): "I--SAAAY... SALVAGEABLE TOMATOES!" and all the tomatoes that are the least bit salvageable jump off the vines and hide the best they can. Some rolled into the most unlikely patch of weeds, some under the pumpkin vines, some even managed to find a ditch, and others who couldn't find hiding places either rolled off to the OPPOSITE side of the plant from where I was standing or made the best of it by rolling around in the mud and getting themselves thoroughly dirty.

This time, I ended up with a 3 Gal bucket-full of fruits in various tomato colors... WHAT WAS I THINKING!!?? Somebody remind me next time not to plant so much.

I'm sorry, I REALLY don't mean to thread-jack, but it does seem relevant -- does anyone have input on those pickled green tomatoes? I'm guessing the kind used in Martinis, not that I drink Martinis on regular basis, are salty like olives -- I.e. lacto-fermented or dill pickle kind? Do the other kind that are made with cooked green tomatoes in vinegar/sugar brine similar to cucumber Bread and Butter pickles taste like them -- I.e. if you like cuke B&B pickles, you'd like tomato B&B pickles as well?

ETA: Came back to add that I washed all the harvested fruits in a baking soda and water solution before sorting them for storage/processing.

[nes]

No worries, not jacked - got my answer already

I love your salvageable tomatoes game though! I have the ripe cucumber game .

[applestar]

Here are the tumblin' "SALVAGEABLE" tomatoes all picked up, washed, and boxed
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image5501.jpg[/img]

The REALLY red ones and the 2 pink big beefsteak tomatoes are on special display in the kitchen.

Canned (3) 1/2 pint jars of green tom salsa starter (toms and jalepenos), (2) 1/2C jelly jars of the salsa cooking broth, (1) 12 oz jelly jar of tomato juice, and (1) 1 pt jar of strained tomatoes for starters. Whew!

[nes]

Picked all my greenies today!

I got really annoyed because my 3 - 4 *just turning orange* tomatoes were rotten . Even a couple green ones had gone bad so I just pulled them all! (well I left 2 plants with lots of really young tomatoes on them, we'll see if they grow or not).

I've got a 75-count box of diapers full of tomatoes I've got a shelf to put them all on in the kitchen. I want to ripen all of these guys because I just saw the flyer & our grocery store is having a HUGE sale on cheese. So cheese + tomatoes... I'm going to makes a ton of lasagnas & pizzas to freeze!

Plus we're getting a new stove/oven this weekend so I've got to put it through it's paces!!

I guess I better go buy some apples to throw in amidst my tomatoes. A watched tomatoes never ripens right?

[Diane]

It is getting cool enough to put the oven on. That sounds yummy.
The tomatoes I took out of the bag with the apples and put in a bowl have mostly turned red. The cherry tomatoes are all red. That was quick.
I think the closed plastic bag keeps the gas inside and makes this work quickly.
Every other year I would have green tomatoes for months and the skin would be hard when they did turn red.

I'm still waiting until the last minute to pick them all.

[nes]

I got pictures of my haul so you can see what I mean about them rotting.

[img]https://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu269/knitness/DSC_0009-2.jpg[/img]

Most rooted on the bottom, these last sneaky guys rotted on their tops.

[img]https://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu269/knitness/DSC_0010.jpg[/img]

Their only on my dining room temporarily since someone went to bed last night instead of bringing in my garden shelf! I guess he's sick he gets a pass for one night...

[Ozark Lady]

As frost date approaches, I only pick the ones showing color... what if?

Well, 2009 "what if" worked really well for me...
Instead of rushing to pick every single tomato...
I waited. And waited, and we picked and ate for supper.
Then, on Thanksgiving Day, the forecast was updated to a week of freezing.
I had not covered the tomatoes or peppers, the peppers had some severely frost damaged leaves, but the peppers were fine.
I finally brought them all in.
My wait and see, what if game gave me an extra month.
We ate alot of them as fried green tomatoes.
Not elaborately done like posted above..
Just slice, then dip in flour with salt and pepper and fry in oil till nice color and eat.
But some of them still rotted before we could get them all used up.
Oh well, "what if" still paid off for me.