How to Ripen Green Tomatoes from the Garden
Are you wondering what to do with unripe green tomatoes? Let me show you how to harvest, sort and ripen tomatoes indoors!
Nearly every gardener I know grows tomatoes. It doesn't matter what type of climate they live in. Homegrown tomatoes seem to have a soft spot in heart of the grower!
Whether it's big, beefsteak varieties, paste tomatoes or even tiny cherry tomatoes, you'll find these juicy fruits in nearly every garden you pass by.
I love eating fresh tomatoes, and I enjoy turning homegrown tomatoes into sauce, salsa and soup stock. But as a gardener, I do have a love-hate relationship with this plant!
Gardening in a cool climate, I have 3 things working against me: 1) a short growing season, 2) cooler temperatures, 3) an early first frost in the fall.
Not all of our tomatoes have time to ripen on the vine. We do our best to prolong the season (starting tomato plants indoors, covering vines in the spring and again in the fall), but in spite of our efforts, I still have lots of unripened tomatoes when we get warning of our first frost.
Tomato vines hate cold weather. At the lightest brush of frost, plants will wilt, turn black and rot into a disgusting pile of slime. If you've ever experience this, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
At the end of the season, you have to bring your tomato harvest indoors or the frost will damage the fruit. Any frozen spots will soften and turn to mush.
Yes, even with green tomatoes!
Before we dive into the world of underripe tomatoes, let me just say this: you don't have to harvest green tomatoes. Some folks just let the frost claim them. Later, they'll haul everything (whole tomato plant and green fruit) to the compost.
But more often than not, gardeners will save their green tomatoes and bring them inside. Because green tomatoes will ripen indoors, if you give them a warm place to sit.
They do it without any help from you!
Well, maybe there's a little bit of sorting that should happen. But the process is very hands-off and easy to do.
Best Tomatoes for Ripening Indoors
I haven't found a tomato variety that won't ripen indoors. The only type of tomato that won't ripen inside is a very under-ripe tomato.
That's right! Young tomatoes that only half developed (or less) aren't likely to ripen indoors. You can identify them by their small size and pale "white" color. You want mature green fruit for indoor ripening.
When to Harvest Unripe Tomatoes
Mature green tomatoes should be harvested at the end of your garden season, before the first frost arrives.
The only exception to this rule is if you have a good row cover to extend the growing season, and plants are protected so light frosts can't reach them.
Frost-kissed tomatoes look alright at first glance, but after sitting for a few days, the frozen spots will soften and the entire green tomato will decay from the inside out.
Moral of the story is: beat the frost.
How to Harvest Green Tomatoes
There's no trick to harvesting green tomatoes. Pick and pile them into containers that are easy to lift and haul!
Some folks will tell you to leave the green stem attached (assumedly so your tomatoes won't spoil as fast), but this just isn't necessary.
While it's true you need to leave stems on storage apples, pears and squash, it doesn't apply to green tomatoes. After all, you're only leaving them out until they ripen, so you can preserve them in the freezer, dehydrator or canner.
And because tomatoes are usually stacked, you don't want those tough, green stems poking holes in neighboring fruit.
Great Containers for Holding Green Tomatoes
Everyone uses different containers for holding and ripening their green tomatoes. Cardboard boxes, large bowls, rubbermaid totes or even flat-bottom crates will do.
The key thing to remember is that you'll have to pick over your tomatoes 1-2x a week. You don't want a really deep container that is difficult to dig through. Likewise, you don't want ripe tomatoes to be squished by the weight of the fruit above.
It only takes one bad tomato to make a lot of liquid, so I prefer to keep tomatoes in bowls or bins that will hold moisture, in case I missed something and a few juicy tomatoes get "juicier."
Helpful tip: keep tomato varieties together, so you don't have giant beefsteaks crushing small cherry tomatoes during the ripening process.
Where to Store Tomatoes for Ripening
In order to ripen, tomatoes need to be stored in a warm place. And by warm, I mean at room temperature.
Warmth is the only thing that will do the ripening trick for you.
How do I know?
I tried storing my green tomatoes in my canning room one year. This space is a pantry/cold room combined. Only a few turned red in those colder temperatures, and then one by one, they began to decay.
I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong, until I talked to a worker at a local fruit stand.
You guessed it. I was buying tomatoes.
She reminded me that tomatoes (and most produce, for that matter) needs to be warm to ripen. And she was right. So right.
Now we store green tomatoes at room temperature in our mud room, which is just off the living room. I line our large storage shelf with newspaper or other absorbent paper. And then we load it up. Extra bowls or bins get stored on the floor.
I see the fruits often, so I don't forget to check them and remove ripe tomatoes.
It may feel counterintuitive, but storing tomatoes at room temperature is the only way to ripen them!
How to Tell When Tomatoes Are Ripe
Tomatoes will turn deep red when they've fully ripened indoors. That's all you need to know!
Best Ways to Use Indoor Ripened Tomatoes
You can use an indoor ripened tomato just like you would fresh red tomatoes. The only difference is that they may have a tougher skin, and the flavor isn't always as sweet as a vine-ripened tomatoes.
If your tomatoes are clean, you don't need to wash them before using. But if they need a rinse, you can quickly rub them clean in cold water.
From there, you can store whole tomatoes in the fridge or freezer. I like to save them up until I have enough to make a big batch of something yummy.
In our home, I ferment tomatoes, can them, turn them into salsa, tomato sauce, juice or anything else I like.
Helpful tip: I especially like to use house-ripened tomatoes for sauce and soup stock. Sitting a warm place, some of the moisture evaporates off, which leaves you with a thicker end product.
My Favorite Tomato Preserving Tutorials
Get tomato preserving tutorial, right here on my blog. These are methods I've taught and used over the years.
Helpful tip: freezing whole tomatoes with the skin on is one of the fastest ways to preserve tomatoes for making sauce or tomato juice later on.
How to Make Tomato Sauce with Frozen Tomatoes
Fermented Tomato Salsa Recipe
How to Ferment Whole Tomatoes for Later
Commonly Asked Questions About Ripening Green Tomatoes
Should I leave my tomatoes on the main stem?
You don't need to. Tomatoes will ripen before they spoil, even if they aren't harvested with the stem. Remember, you're leaving fruit out to ripen, so you can then preserve it for long term storage.
My plants got hit by frost; can I still use tomatoes in home canning recipes?
Actually, you're not supposed to. Frost can affect the pH (in other words, the acidity) of tomatoes.
If you know anything about home canning, you know acidity is important for safe preserving. Ripe fruits that came from frost-killed vines should turned into freezer sauce (you can get my full tutorial right here), or can be dehydrated for later.
Do tomatoes need to be stored in a dark place?
You don't need to. They'll ripen on a kitchen counter in direct sunlight or on a sunny windowsill.
You can leave them in a darkened spare room, or stash them under the bed in cardboard boxes.
Warmth is what ripens them, not darkness or light!
I have to leave my tomatoes where I will see them, or it's a bad smell and a cloud of fruit flies that reminds me of a job left undone!
Should I add a banana or a ripe apple to my boxes of unripe tomatoes?
I've never tried this and my tomatoes have always ripened without any issue (except when I stored them in my cold room).
Using a ripe banana or apple to produce ethylene gas seems like a great way to introduce fruit flies to your tomatoes. So I just don't.
How long will it take tomatoes to ripen at room temperature?
It depends on the warmth of your room and how "mature" the green tomatoes are. I usually find that tomatoes begin to steadily ripen within 7-10 days of bringing them indoors.
Once this happens, you should pick the ripe ones out 1-2x per week.
My tomatoes look a bit wrinkled; can I still use them?
Yes. Wrinkled tomatoes indicate loss of moisture. You're more likely to see wrinkles if 1) you have under-mature green fruit that took a long time to ripen 2) your tomatoes were stored in a very warm place.
Because of our wood stove, I always have lightly wrinkled tomatoes at the end of the season.
This is especially true of fruits that were very green.
Often, these tomatoes don't have a lot of flavor (because they were so underripe when harvested), so you may want to taste test the fruit and see if it's worth keeping.
What should I do with green tomatoes that won't ripen?
Some of your green tomatoes may be too underdeveloped to ripen. If you have a lot of tomatoes left over that just won't turn red, you'll probably want to throw them out (I usually do).
But if you like, here are some safe canning or refrigerator recipes for green tomatoes.
Pin this for later!
Why You Should Ripen Your Green Tomatoes
Unless you live in a warm climate where you have a very bountiful tomato harvest, I think it's worth saving green tomatoes for indoor ripening. It's easy to do and if you have the space, you can sometimes double your harvest.
So in the end, it's worth the effort.
Helpful tip: even if you don't want your indoor ripened tomatoes, you might be able to sell them to folks who want to do some preserving, but missed the actual tomato season. Or maybe they had tomatoes, but put them in a cold place (like someone we know) and lost everything.
You never know until you try!
