Tomatoes and Peppers (2234)

With care, you can store tomatoes in the fall for about four to six weeks. Tomatoes from nearly spent vines usually are not as good as tomatoes from vigorous vines and are more subject to decay. Plant some tomatoes late in the season so vines will be vigorous when you are ready to harvest.

TOMATOES

Harvest tomatoes just before the first killing frost. If you get an unexpected frost, salvage undamaged tomatoes and ripen them for eating or cooking. Do not can these tomatoes. Store tomatoes that show red in separate containers from green tomatoes. This reduces bruising, and you can use the separated tomatoes first. Pack green tomatoes one or two layers deep in shallow boxes or trays to ripen.

Mature green tomatoes ripen in about two weeks at 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. You can slow down ripening by holding tomatoes at 55 degrees. Do not hold them at 50 degrees or below for more than a few days. At 55 degrees, mature green tomatoes need about a month to ripen

An airy cellar or outbuilding where you can keep the temperature at about 55 to 58 degrees works well to hold tomatoes. A room with moderately moist air is best. Too much dampness encourages decay. If the room is too dry, the tomatoes will shrivel before they ripen. Wrapping tomatoes helps slow down moisture loss, but is not totally effective in a dry room. Polyethylene bags, if perforated, help prevent shriveling, but they may increase decay.

Sort stored tomatoes every 7 to 10 days. Separate reddish tomatoes from green ones. Remove those that show decay.

PEPPERS

You can keep mature green peppers in home storage for two to three weeks if you handle them properly. Firm, dark-green peppers are best for storage. Pick peppers just before frost, then wash and sort them according to maturity and firmness.

You must closely control moisture and temperature conditions to successfully store peppers. A polyethylene bag perforated with 10 to 12 one-fourth inch holes is a good way to maintain high humidity. The temperature should be between 45 to 50 degrees. Peppers can severely decay at 40 degrees or lower in three weeks.

Hot pepper varieties are easiest to store after they are dry. Dry them in two ways: one—pull the plants and hang them up; or two—pick the peppers from the plants and string them on a line.

Store dry peppers in a cool, dry place such as an attic or unheated room. Do not store in a cellar. If you use a dehydrator to dry hot peppers, be sure there is plenty of ventilation to carry away vapors that will burn the eyes.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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