We have had our first frost here in Cache County and my tomatoes really were damaged. I may get a few more fruit that are hiding deep in the plant but for the most part I am not going to be able to store them.
I was asked this week about long-term storage of tomatoes. Here is what you need to know: pick all the colored fruit, anything that has a little bit of pink blush to it all the way through to the kind of reddish ones. Then bring them inside, surface sterilize them. I use a little bit of bleach solution to do that. Layer all the colored fruits together making sure you are keeping the light colored ones together because that’s an easier way for them to ripen at different times. Then put them in boxes with layers of newspapers and don’t let them touch each other.
Try to store them at around 45-55 degrees and you should be able to have some of those fruits that keep all the way up to Thanksgiving. If you’re out and about trying to get your squash out of the garden, think about how you’re going to store that as well. Make sure when you clip it off the plant, you leave the stem on it and then store these first at around 65-75 degrees for about two weeks. That helps cure the skin. It also helps to improve the flesh flavor. And then after they have stored at that temperature then remove them and put them down at around 50-55. Don’t store them at colder temperatures than that, otherwise, they just rot.
Pick the fruit when they are warm rather than when they are cold, brush off the dirt and you should be good. As you’re dealing with storage fruit, make sure you watch out for any molding or rotting that’s going on as well.
