How to Ripen Green Tomatoes in the Fall

The first frost of fall will call the end of your homegrown tomato season; yet the tomato plants are usually loaded with fruit. Fortunately, you can harvest and ripen the green tomatoes with this simple method and enjoy your tomatoes for several more weeks.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A box or bin
• Newspaper or a paper bag
• An apple
• Green tomatoes

1. When the first frost is predicted, harvest all the developed fruits. Discard any blighted or cracked tomatoes and forgo the smaller undeveloped fruits.

2. 
   green tomatoes

   Gently arrange in a box or bin, no more than two deep.

3. 
   green tomatoes

   Place an apple in the bin. Apples emit ethylene gas, which will hasten the tomato ripening process. Commercial tomato growers use ethylene gas to ripen grocery store tomatoes.

4. 
   green tomatoes

   Cover loosely with newspaper or a grocery bag. This will help keep the ethylene gas in the bin. Do not use plastic as this will encourage mold.

5. Place the bin out of the sunlight in a normal room temperature above 50 degrees. Tomatoes stored in a cool basement, root cellar, or porch will ripen slower than if placed in a warmer room.

6. 
   green tomatoes

   Check daily and remove any tomatoes that begin to shrivel or show rot. Not every tomato can be saved. Transfer ripened tomatoes to your kitchen and complete the ripening on your counter.

Tips & Warnings

• Monitor the weather news to determine when the first frost is expected in your area. If the weather predicts a light frost at 32 or 31 degrees with warmer weather following, you can place a blanket over the plants and harvest another day. If there is a continued cold spell, it is best to call the season done. Tomatoes cannot survive frost and will not continue to ripen when it is 35 degrees outside.
• Not all young fruits will successfully ripen. Discard or use in a green tomato recipe.

Resources

• How to Stop Blossom End Rot in Potted Tomatoes
• How to Grow Tomatoes in a Self Watering Pot
• How to Make Roasted Tomatoes in the Oven
• How to Make Dairy Free Tomato Soup

[suzyhomeeconomy]

on 11/11/2009 Thanks for the tip. Much less work than wrapping each one individually, as I was taught. 5*

[juliemcmurchie]

on 11/5/2009 Great tips for ripening green tomatoes in the fall.

[konakai]

on 10/29/2009 We do have some Green Tomatoes on the last tomato plant of the season. I will definetely try this method to ripen them. Thank! Konakai

[tracysmith159]

on 10/26/2009 I'll have to try this. We put ours in a paper bag in the cubboard. That method worked well for the larger tomoates. The smaller tomatoes did not ripe fast enough and started to wilt. This method would give more sunlight, so it sounds like a better method.

[kristara]

on 10/23/2009 Very useful information! I will definitely this it 5*