One year when I had planted my tomatoes late in the season I had lots of green tomatoes left on the vines when I needed to get them off or lose them all. I picked them all and wrapped each separately in newspaper. I layered them in a box only 2 layers high, and stored them in a cool dark place. Check them once a week.
If when you unwrap a tomato and it has started to turn red leave unwrapped put it where you can keep an eye on it. The tomato will finish turning red and ripen and you will have a fresh ripe tomato in the middle of the winter. When I did this I had lots of green tomatoes, I ended up with fresh ripe tomatoes until February of the next year.
There is nothing like a fresh home grown tomato in the winter months. Just be sure and check them all or some may rot and cause others around it to rot. It is a little work, but oh, so worth it. I heard about this from somewhere else but can't remember where.
By cora from N.C.
At the end of the season don't waste those unripe tomatoes. Freeze them for future use. This is a page about freezing green tomatoes.
This is a page about ripening green tomatoes. The end of the growing season or an early frost may catch you with a lot of green tomatoes still on the vines. Don't leave them to rot in the garden, bring them in.
