By collecting a generous harvest from the garden, we try to preserve the fruits of our labor as long as possible. This also applies to the harvest of red berries - tomato. And everything would be fine when there is a private house, but, for example, how to store tomatoes in an apartment, and if they did not have time to ripen, what to do with green tomatoes? In our article you will find answers to these questions.
Which varieties are suitable for long storage
When choosing a variety of tomatoes, pay attention to the period of its ripening: there are early ripening, mid-ripening and late. For storage suitable late varieties.
Did you know? Late varieties contain the Rin gene: it slows down the maturation of the fetus, stretching the metabolism. Therefore, the pulp and crust of these varieties of tomatoes remain juicy and elastic.
Late include a number of varieties and hybrids: Giraffe, New Year, large tomatoes Long Kiper, F1, Sluzhabok and Masterpiece, Farm and hybrid Crisp.
Varieties such as Cherry Red, CherryLiza, Cherry Licopa, can be stored for 2.5 months. Hand varieties have very good characteristics for long-term storage: Intuition, Instinct, Reflex. Similar characteristics are inherent in the following hybrids: Monica, Master, Brilliant, Viscount, Trust, Resento.
How to harvest tomatoes for storage
Whether you keep the tomatoes fresh for the winter is affected by the condition of their collection.
- Collect tomatoes for storage until frost (night temperature should not fall below + 8 ... + 5 ° С).
- Collect tomatoes for storage during the day when the dew is gone.
- Take only intact and dense tomatoes.
- Sort by size.
- Distribute by degree of maturity.
- Remove the stems from each berry, but do not tear them out. So you can damage the fetus itself. If the stalk is not separated, leave it on the tomato.
Did you know? Large vegetables ripen faster than small ones.
What conditions are needed for storage of tomatoes?
The room where the tomatoes will be stored should be clean, ventilated, dark. Tomatoes for storage are placed in 2-3 layers in boxes after pre-sorting. 
In order to preserve all the beneficial substances in tomatoes and prevent them from spoiling, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime. Different temperatures are suitable for tomatoes of different maturity: 1-2 ° С - for ripe, 4-6 ° С - for slightly reddened, and for green - 8-12 ° С. The maximum allowable temperature should not exceed +18 ° C.
Humidity should also not be neglected: provide a sufficient level of moisture in the room, but do not over-humidify it. It is necessary to inspect bookmarks for storage every day.
How to store ripe tomatoes
Experienced agronomists have always known how to keep fresh tomatoes longer. It is advised to prepare a non-concentrated gelatinous solution or to apply a wax layer on the fruit. After such manipulations, the fruits are dried and sent to storage. They say that it is possible to prolong storage by using alcohol / vodka, a 0.3% solution of boric acid or a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. All this will completely destroy the microbes on the tomatoes.
Temperature affects the shelf life of ripe tomatoes. Mature tomato fruits can be stored up to one and a half months at a temperature of 1-3 ° C without losing their quality.
Ripe tomatoes can be stored in jars, filled with mustard powder or after "dry sterilization" with alcohol. Mature fruits can be stored in paper bags, cardboard boxes, plastic bags, a refrigerator or in any ventilated room.
Storage conditions for green tomatoes
In folk practice, there are many ways to store green tomatoes before ripening. In order for everything to work out, it is important to respect the temperature conditions. In order for the tomatoes to remain green for as long as possible, the temperature should be between 10-12 ° C with a humidity of 80-85%.
For storage, choose medium-sized fruits of green, milky-pink color. Spread the fruit in 2-3 layers, "ass" top. You can store in cardboard boxes, plastic ventilated boxes, on the shelves in the basement. If you store tomatoes in boxes, then fill the fruits with onion peel and keep the temperature at -2 ... +2 ºС - this will prolong storage.
Materials that extend storage:
- sphagnum peat;
- sawdust;
- onion peel;
- Vaseline and paraffin (need to be applied to each fruit);
- paper (you need to wrap each individual tomato).
It turns out there is a proven way to store green tomatoes so they turn red. No special treatments or paints are needed. Add some red tomatoes and hay to the boxes if you want to speed up the ripening process. Also suitable for these purposes and a banana: ripe tomatoes and ripe bananas produce ethylene, which accelerates ripening. Take out the ripening tomatoes in the light - it will accelerate the "staining" of the fruit.
You can store tomatoes whole bush. You need to freeze a healthy bush with green tomatoes to hang in a room where it is dry, warm and enough light. This upside-down position will provide all the fruits with useful elements.
If the temperature in the room exceeds 30 ° C, not fully ripe tomatoes turn red, their taste will be sour, although it looks like a red tomato. The tomatoes are badly affected by dry air and high temperature: the fruits will be wrinkled with a changed pulp structure. And if during storage of tomatoes there will be damp air and low temperature - the tomatoes may not turn red at all, diseases will develop, and the fruits will become unsuitable for consumption.
Fulfilling such simple conditions, be sure that tomatoes will last up to 2.5 months and longer.
Best place to keep tomatoes
Asking how to store tomatoes, we have to think about where to keep them. Storage is very important for this berry. If you live in a private house, then store tomatoes in the cellar, garage (if there is enough moisture and no harmful substances). In the apartment, many do not know how you can keep the tomatoes fresh for the winter. For storage fit a balcony or bathroom. In both cases, it is necessary to maintain constant moisture, ensure that there is no light (tomatoes ripen faster in the light) and moderate temperature. And, of course, do not forget to periodically examine the fruit for damage or manifestations of possible diseases.
Why not keep tomatoes in the refrigerator
Important! Store in the refrigerator can only ripened fruit.It is not advisable to store green tomatoes in the refrigerator - they will not ripen. There are certain conditions on how to store tomatoes in the fridge.
- Keep only ripe berries.
- Place the fruit in the vegetable compartment.
- You can wrap each tomato in paper.
- You can keep tomatoes in the fridge for up to 7 days.
If you store tomatoes over this period, they will lose their taste. Also, the pulp will begin to undergo changes in its structure to the extent that you can not use tomatoes, and they will have to be thrown away.What if the tomatoes started to rot
No matter how you try to preserve fresh tomatoes longer, some of them can still deteriorate. Therefore, it is important to inspect the fruit daily. The most common diseases of tomatoes are phytophthora and bacterial cancer. The first is manifested in the form of vague subcutaneous spots, and the second - affects the stem. The spots of brown with white halo on the edges have a black border.
Important! Bacterial cancer infects the seeds and spreads with them.To overcome these diseases can quite an unusual way - "sterilization" of tomatoes.
- Heat water to 60 ° C.
- Dip the tomatoes strictly for 2 minutes.
- Dry it.
- Spread elsewhere for storage on newspaper or burlap.
