Tomatoes are removed, or picked, from their plant from mid-July during September or when a risk of frost exists. Harvesting tomatoes when they fully ripe is perfect, but the fruits can be harvested anytime throughout the end of this growing season. Green tomatoes can be removed from their plant just one day before frost and ripened indoors. Vine-ripened tomatoes that are evenly red, smooth and firm have the sweetest taste and most powerful fragrance.
Select smooth and waxy tomatoes that are firm to the touch, even if the top of the fruits isn’t a ripe color. Some tomato varieties are red when ripe and other varieties are yellowish.
Hold a tomato with one hand, and then hold the stem on that the tomato grows together with the flip side. Slide the tomato gently to break the stem, avoiding squeezing the fruit and puncturing skin. Repeat the process to get rid of other tomatoes from this plant.
Verify the tomatoes to get holes, specks of decay and cracks. Discard damaged tomatoes instantly to prevent spreading decay.
Store ripe tomatoes in a refrigerator. Wrap unripe tomatoes individually in newspaper. Arrange the unripe tomatoes in one layer, and place them away from sunlight in a room where the temperature is 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scrub tomatoes weekly for ripeness.