Sunday, November 2, 2014

Saving the green tomatoes

Every year around this time we get the first frost.
This year is no different.
With temperatures around and below the dreaded 32° F freezing point, 
there is no way our tomato plants would survive.
(unless we had a hoop house...maybe).

So the night before the freezing temperatures I went outside to collect all the green tomatoes.


I keep them in a cluster, tie them to a
 string and hang them up.



These green tomatoes will slowly turn red in the next couple of months...that means we'll eat homegrown garden tomatoes in December.



My grandfather did this every year.
If you have a basement or cellar, keep the tomatoes there, as it would be cooler. But really any place would work.
Mine usually hang from the pot rack.

Stay Frugal,
Daniela

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I didn't know it got so cold there Dani!
Love the idea of hanging them from the pot rack - I used to hang garlic and peppers from mine !
XOXO

Kelly said...

Great idea! That's good to know so you don't have to waste those.

Rita C at Panoply said...

My neighbor & I were talking on Trick or Treat eve, and he goes to the farmers' market every year on the 31st and buys a huge basket of green tomatoes and puts them in his basement to ripen. Being the city girl I am, I didn't know this trick. Good one! You'll be lovin' those tomatoes come December!

Sonny G said...

you are so smart.. enjoy every one of them in good health and happiness.

Libby said...

Wow, this is fantastic! Strung together like that, they really do look like grapes. :-)

Mary Palumbo Collings said...

Noi italiani sappiamo cosa fare con questi pomodorini eh? Che bello…. Ti abbraccio Daniela… Buon Novembre…Mary

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

My mother does that as well. Unfortunately my tomato plants got sick at the end of summer because August was too dry here... So no green tomatoes for me tis year!

andi filante said...

I do this when I have the energy and desire. This was not that year. ;)

-andi

Carla from The River said...

Great tip, thank you.