Did you know that you can pick green tomatoes from the vine and ripen them indoors? This may be needed to protect the fruit from animals or just something as simple as an early frost. Find out how easy it is to get gorgeous ripe tomatoes if you have to pick them early!
Last year we moved to an 8 acre homestead on family land and started doing everything we can to be more self-sufficient. That included starting our Back to Eden gardens!
We planted all sorts of things like spinach, watermelon, pumpkins, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, squash, and carrots.
It turns out that while everything really loved the Back to Eden method, the tomatoes especially thrived in the new garden!
When To Harvest Green Tomatoes
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We knew this year needed to be different, because in years passed we've lost many tomatoes before they were fully ripened.
Some we lost to the animals, especially our silly dogs... and if not the animals, we lost fruit due to the frost, even if we covered them well while they were still on the vine.
Because the Back to Eden method is so amazing, we still had a TON of green tomatoes on the vine in mid-November.
So, with the day before the first frost in our area was the weekend before Thanksgiving (I know, Texas weather is a lot later than other areas!), we knew we needed to harvest them, but I was a little worried about whether they would ripen well inside.
After a bit of research I felt I'd be able to make it work, so we took the plunge and harvested all of our green tomatoes!
Tip: I found that if the tomatoes are a shiny then they are mature enough to harvest!
How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Inside
Once you get your green tomatoes inside the steps for ripening them is fairly simple.
Step One
Don't wash them! Leave all that dirt and grime all over the tomatoes. It will help protect them as they ripen. You can wash them right before eating.
Step Two
Place them in a single layer (or as close to it as you can get). I placed mine on two pizza pans and used a couple of empty canning jars to make a tower.
Since we live in an 800 square foot house, saving space is a must!
Step Three
Place your tomatoes in indirect sunlight, in a warm (but not hot) area of the house. For me, the kitchen counter was the perfect spot!
Do not refrigerate! Just leave them on the counter until they are fully ripened.
How Long Does it Take for Green Tomatoes to Ripen?
Here's the big question right?? How long to you have to wait?!
For us, we started seeing our first few tomatoes ripen after about a week. From there we had new tomatoes turning every day. That lasted for about 10 weeks!
In the end, every single one turned red and tasted amazing!
>> Ready to get started with your own Back to Eden Garden? Click here for the step by step guide! <<
Mandy E says
Half of what i read about ripening them says to put in a COOL DARK place and half say a WARM SUNNY place?! why??? I have a good amount of green tomatoes left on my vine and my pesky neighbor just broke the main vine so I need to bring them in to rescue my crop but need to know the actual best way to do it so I dont waste all my big wonderful tomatoes! ??
Victoria says
Hi Mandy!
Isn’t it frustrating when you read conflicting reports?! I absolutely agree! We had the same issue, needing to pull the tomatoes to save them.
All I can say it that ripening them inside on the counter worked for us in both the winter and the summer.
We placed them on the table in semi-sunlight and they turned out great!
Or, you could always make chow-chow and fried green tomatoes if you don’t want to wait for them to ripen! <3