We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this summer – both large tomatoes and the smaller, cherry tomatoes. Our vines were still producing as the first frost approached, so we picked each green tomato that night and brought them indoors. We have since been eating these tomatoes on tossed salads as they ripen in the house.
Brown paper bags work great as incubators for the green tomatoes. Simply clean off the tomatoes and throw away any that may have a bad place. Spread the tomatoes in a single layer on the bottom of an ordinary brown, paper bag and store them in a dark, cool place. The warmer the room, the quicker the tomatoes will ripen, so you may wish to put one bag in the basement or a shed (where it won’t reach freezing) and another bag in the kitchen.
Check the tomatoes every few days and discard any that are going bad. Most, however, will ripen nicely and extend your fresh tomato-growing season by up to 6 or 8 weeks.
I don’t look forward to the next 6 months of having to buy and eat “plastic tomatoes” from the grocery store. They are tasteless and mealy. Yuck! I had rather eat diced, canned tomatoes and usually do.
But “brown bag” your extra tomatoes at season’s end and you’ll reap the rewards on your next tossed salad.