Michigan State University Extension
Preserving Food Safely - 01600202
10/13/97

### STORING TOMATOES

     Store tomatoes that have not been injured by frost; fruits

    from
     vigorous  vines will  store  better  than  fruits from

    exhausted
     vines.  To avoid chill  injury, harvest  tomatoes

    exposed
     to temperatures of less  than 50 degrees Fahrenheit

    in
     less than five days.

     Remove  stems  to  prevent  puncturing   other   tomatoes.

    Wash
    and dry fruit.  Wiping  dirty fruit  when it is dry may

    scar
    skin and shorten storage life.

     Sort tomatoes into  like stages of maturity  or  use these

    three
    classifications:  those  showing  red,  mature  green,

    and
     green.  Mature green tomatoes  have reached mature size

    and
    are light green to whitish.

     Pack tomatoes of like stage 1 or 2 layers deep in boxes or

    trays.
     Mature greens will reach an eating stage in  14 days

    when
    stored between  65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Ripening

    can
     be slowed  by  lowering the  temperature  to 50 degrees

    Fahrenheit.

     Never expose  tomatoes  to  temperatures below 50  degrees

    Fahrenheit
     for  more  than  a  few  days.   At   55 degrees

    Fahrenheit,
    mature  green tomatoes  will need  25 to 28 days

    to
     ripen.  An airy  cellar  or  outbuilding with   moderate

    humidity
     is  ideal  for  storage.  Too  much humidity  will

    cause
    decay and too little will cause shriveling.

     Fruits can be  wrapped  individually  to overcome humidity

    that
     is too low.  Wrapping  will  not  be effective  if the

    humidity
    is very low.  If tomatoes  are stored in perforated

    plastic
    bags, decay may  increase.

     Sort tomatoes at 7 to 10 day intervals to separate the red

    and
    green tomatoes and to dispose of any rotted fruit.

##### Go To Top of File &&&&&& MSU Extension Home Page &&&&&& Main Page for this Data Base

###### This information is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. This information becomes public property upon publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise a commercial product or company. This file was generated from data base 01 on 03/09/98. Data base 01 was last revised on 10/13/97. For more information about this data base or its contents please contact wrublec@msue.msu.edu . Please read our disclaimer for important information about using our site.