Chapter 09 · Pick for flavor, then beat the frost
Harvest
Ripe is a color and a give, not a date on the packet.
Zone 6: transplant Mid- to late April. Harvest June – October.
A tomato is ready when it has taken its mature color — red, rose, gold, purple-brown — and yields slightly at the shoulder. Twist with the calyx on, or snip the stem. Pulling hard tears the truss and costs you the next fruit.
When to pick
Flavor peaks on the plant if nights are in the 60s. In a heat wave, pick at first full color and finish on the counter; fruit left in 95°F sun goes mealy. In a cold snap, pick at the “breaker” stage — a blush at the blossom end — and ripen indoors. Tomatoes do not need light to ripen; they need time and a little ethylene. A paper bag with an apple hurries a green one. A windowsill is tradition, not a requirement.
Storing fruit (not seed)
Never refrigerate a ripe tomato if you can help it; cold wrecks aroma. Keep them in a single layer, stem down, at room temperature, and eat within a few days. Split or damaged fruit goes to sauce the same day.
The last week
When the forecast shows a frost, pick everything with a hint of color, then the mature greens. Pull the whole plant and hang it in a garage if you like; fruit will continue to color. Leave a few of the very best ripe fruits on the board — those are the ones whose seed you will save.