Storage of garden tomatoes?

[Two Fister]

One of my best friends had to head back east to take care of some family matters. He asked me to watch after his garden while he is gone. Growing red tomatoes in Bend can be a real challenge given our short growing season. This year he's had a real bumper crop (best in at least 10 years), but everything is ready to go now, but he won't be back until this weekend. I picked a big bag of really ripe tomatoes the day before yesterday and there are more that are ready to drop. I don't want to eat all of his tomatoes, nor do I want to see them go to waste. He marching orders were to eat anything that was ready so as to keep it from being wasted.

We had a hard frost a few nights ago and some of the plants got a pretty good frost kiss. The squash were wiped out. The tomatoes are in pots so I moved them inside to avoid a second night of subfreezing August nighttime temperatures. Welcome to the high desert where we can have a killing frost any day of the year.

If I put them in a paper bag and put them in his fridge do the ifish tomato gardeners think that they would last until Sunday? We're leaving for Seattle on Friday morning so I'll have to turn them into sauce tomorrow before we leave if they'll go bad. Maybe spread them between a few different bags in a single layer per bag?

Thanks,
TF

[Bucolic buffalo]

Sorry to hear that. We covered ours to keep them from getting frost bite. Just put them on the kitchen counter. They should keep for 4 or 5 days even if they are red ripe. Don't put them in the fridge, it degrades the taste. You can also put them in a cool garage to keep them from getting too ripe too quickly. We are going to try to keep ours going until the end of the month. It is a pain but the store bought tomatoes just don't taste like home grown.

[MikeT]

If you're expecting more freezing temps I'd pick everything that is beginning to ripen (showing red) and bring them indoors to avoid frost damage. They'll finish ripening just fine on the kitchen counter.
Shelf life depends on the variety, but 1-3 weeks at room temp is pretty normal in my experience.

Mike

[Fast Water]

Do not put them in the fridge until they have fully ripened. Only use the fridge as a last resort.

Try to leave a little stem when you pick them.

Good luck.

[Chrome Bumper]

Fridge will make the texture funky, store on a tray in a cool area with moderate humidity. You can throw them in a sack and freeze them whole and use them later for cooking, or can them.