We’ve always had problems getting enough tomatoes to ripen at once to have enough for canning. Some get picked and by the time there are two more pickings, the first ones are going bad. Now the squirrel issue is forcing us to pick even earlier. The tomatoes usually sit in cardboard beer flats to ripen but this year I’ve changed up the process and it seems to be working for the most part. At least a lot better than in the past.

Here’s what we got today. A few almost ripes on top but more half ripes or just blushes under them.



First they get rinsed off well as usual. Then I’ve added the new step of spraying each one all over with a peroxide solution and then setting them on the wire racks of my light stand for more air flow. These are about ready for canning.



It seems to be working a lot better as they’re definitely not going bad as fast. Oh, there are always a few bad spots coming on to cut out but by golly, this year we’re canning tomatoes! The peroxide solution is 12 TBS per gallon of water, which reduces down to 2 TBS + ¾ tsp per 24 oz water for my spray bottle. The spray concentration is one I read about here:

https://www.therustedgarden.com/blogs/v ... ine-theory

If the peroxide spray would only work as well on the tomato plants but I haven’t been regular enough in usage to make a determination. Too many afternoon showers.

Here's what I do. As the tomatoes ripen and are obviously "extras", I freeze them in freezer bags. When the weather has cooled down and I'm ready to can them, I run them under the hot tap to split the skins off (easily), then I put them in colanders with bowls underneath (inside coolers). It takes a couple of days for them to thaw completely, and I save all the liquid to use later in soups. I get rid of a lot of water this way, so less time cooking them down .

Linda

Good ideas!

I also freeze the ones I think won't make it. The unblemished ones can survive for a few weeks. The problem is the taste is not the same, using overripe tomatoes and more fresh ones will yield somewhat different results to my taste even if in theory doesn't seem like it should.

I have a cool room where the temperature usually stays around 65 F or at least below 70 F no matter the weather. I put my tomatoes there to finish ripening. I've made the mistake of bringing upstairs and a hot day over-ripens really fast, taste not the same either.
Once they're ripe, two words: chest freezer.
The deep freeze keeps tomatoes really well, but lesser freezers as found in your fridge, not good for any length of time.

I like freezing my tomatoes in quart and pint containers. I don't need to accumulate as many at one time as I would to fill a canner.

I just freeze them when I have enough to fill a jar or two.

I don't freeze any tomatoes. The main reason is that the big upright freezer is slam full of meat, various flours, pounds of pecans, frozen soups, etc and there is no room for tomatoes. And the several times I've tried freezing tomatoes, they don't taste right when thawed so they get canned.

Does it get warm above the lights?

I read an article about a guy in Africa who figured out to pack tomatoes in wood ashes and they would last for months.

I'm trying this peroxide spray...it seems extremely dilute though. 6oz per gallon is like 5% of 3%, =.0015 = 0.15% peroxide.
I want to try it on the tomatoes that are picked as well as blushing ones on the vine.