Tomato Harvesting and Post-Harvest Care

Table of Contents

Harvesting tomatoes

Harvest tomatoes in late summer 50 to 90 frost-free days after planting. Pick the fruit when it is evenly colored but still firm. Support the vine in one hand and gently pull the fruit to prevent damage to the plant. A month before the first expected frost, start plucking new flowers off the plants. This will direct the plant’s energy into ripening tomatoes already on the vine.

When your tomatoes begin to ripen, check your crop every day. The best-tasting tomatoes are picked at the peak of maturity–not a week or two later. Cut or gently twist off the fruit. Six weeks before the first expected frost, pinch away all of the growing tips and new blossoms. This will terminate new growth and allow the plant to put its energy into ripening its last fruits.

When to harvest tomatoes

Tomatoes also can be classified by when they come to harvest:

Early season: require 40 to 60 days to reach harvest from transplanting.
Midseason: require 60 to 80 days to reach harvest from transplanting.
Late season: require 80 or more days to reach harvest from transplanting.
For a long harvest plant early, mid-season, and late-season tomatoes at the same time in spring or early summer.
Some tomatoes are picked green and ripened indoors. ‘Mature green’ tomatoes have reached full size and are just beginning to turn color. They can be ripened on the kitchen counter indoors.
Note on a calendar when you plant then count ahead of the number of days to maturity to know when harvest will begin.
Allow tomatoes to ripen on the vine when possible.
A tomato will be ripe when its skin turns from dull to glossy.
Tomatoes that have begun to turn color will ripen off the vine. Place them in a cool place out of the direct sun with the stem end up.
Harvest tomatoes before the first frost; you can lift whole plants and hang them upside down in a shed or garage to ripen.

Tomato harvest before first fall frost

When the first heavy frost is predicted, pick ripening fruit–even green ones–and set them on the kitchen counter out of the sunlight. They will ripen in time. Alternatively, you can remove your tomato plants from the garden roots, fruits, and all and hang them upside down in the garden shed, garage, or basement–away from freezing temperatures. The fruits on these vines will ripen in time as well.

Tomato plant yield

Plant 1 to 4 tomato plants for each household member. Consider the variety and how the tomato will be used: eating fresh, cooking, canning, or preserving. If possible, plant both early and late cultivars and determinate and indeterminate tomatoes to allow for a staggered and continuous harvest. Double the number of plants if you plan to crush the fruit for juice.

Freeze tomatoes — Slice and freeze tomatoes for later use. The flavor will not be lost.

Storing and preserving tomatoes

Ripe tomatoes are best stored on the kitchen counter, not in the refrigerator.
Tomatoes also can be frozen, canned, dried whole, or sliced.
Tomatoes can be made into juice, paste, relish, or pickles.
Green tomatoes harvested before the last frost can be set in a cool, moist, place for up to one month as they ripen.
More tips How to Freeze Tomatoes and How to Can Tomatoes.
More tips on tomato harvest: How to Harvest and Store Tomatoes and Tomato Ripening Tips for Season End.