15 Tips for Storing Fresh Picked Garden Tomatoes

The way you store your tomatoes can make a big difference in how good they taste, how long they last, and whether or not they will ripen or rot. Tomatoes are very much a temperature-sensitive fruit.

To make the most of your tomato harvest or farmers’ market finds, you need to store them well. Storing tomatoes well means knowing what temperature and conditions are right at the different stages they are picked.

Here, we cover all the bases, from green and unripe that you want to ripen indoors (or not if you like green tomato recipes) to ripe and red (or another color). We’ll cover how to keep them for longer so they stay good to use.

Here are our 15 top tips for storing tomatoes—of all stages—well.

Jump to:

• Cool the Tomatoes After Picking
• Washing Can Remove Pathogens and Halt Diseases
• Store Green and Unripe Tomatoes in Cool Temps to Slow Ripening Until Ready
• Don’t Store Under-ripe and Unripe Tomatoes at Low, Chilling Temperatures
• Store Mature Green Tomatoes to around Room Temperature for Ripening Off the Vine
• Tomatoes Between Green and Ripe
• Light Ripe Tomatoes Can Store at Very Cool Temperatures
• Ripe Tomatoes Can Store at the Coolest Temperatures
• Ripe Means Whatever Color is Right for the Variety
• Store Ripe Tomatoes on a Counter for Quick Use or in a Pantry for Using in the Near Future
• Store Room Temperature Tomatoes Out of Direct Sunlight
• Store Ripe Tomatoes Shoulders Down
• Keep Tomatoes Away from Apples, Bananas, and Avocados if you Don’t Want them To Ripen
• Remove Ripe Tomatoes from Tomatoes You Don't Want to Ripen
• Only Very Ripe and Overripe Tomatoes Should Go in the Fridge
• Why Temperatures and Storage Matter so Much for Tomatoes
• Garden Fresh Tomatoes Stay Well If They’re Stored Well

Cool the Tomatoes After Picking

Tomatoes are usually at very warm temperatures when they come in from the garden, especially when picked in summer and when the temperature is high. Even at more moderate temperatures, garden tomatoes that are warmed by the sun can be very warm—often even warmer than the air temperature.

The first thing to do when you bring your tomatoes in is to cool them out. Get them out of direct sunlight. At least get them into the shade outdoors, but it’s even better if you get them into cooler indoor temperatures.

If you have picked the tomatoes into a larger box or basket, spread the tomatoes out in a single layer and leave them there for several hours or overnight until they are at room temperature. Then you can store them according to their use and ripening stage, as listed below.

Washing Can Remove Pathogens and Halt Diseases

A good wash when your tomatoes come in can help remove any pathogens, fungal spores, or disease- or rot-causing bacteria. It may help stop blight spores from infecting healthy fruit.

Taking care not to damage or cut the tomatoes, give them a good, thorough wash in cool water. Adding vinegar to the wash water can also help kill fungal spores and pathogens.

Store Green and Unripe Tomatoes in Cool Temps to Slow Ripening Until Ready

If you picked a lot of green tomatoes or tomatoes that have started to blush with color but you don’t want them to ripen too fast, store them at a cool, but not cold, temperature. The right temperature to store green and mostly green tomatoes to slow their ripening is 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

When tomatoes start to hit 60 degrees, they start to ripen faster. So, if you’re not ready for your tomatoes quite yet, keep them under 60 (but not too far under, or you risk giving them chill damage—see below).

Don’t Store Under-ripe and Unripe Tomatoes at Low, Chilling Temperatures

The North Carolina University Extension Service warns that mature green tomatoes that you want to ripen should not be stored for long periods of time at temperatures that can cause them to stop ripening. This is because (as you might have guessed), tomatoes that are chilled too much may (and probably will not) ever ripen, even if they are brought back up to optimal ripening temperatures.

Green tomatoes that suffer chill injury will often rot before they can ever ripen. Chill injury is not just an issue of low temperatures; the process is cumulative. This means that the exposure to low temperatures matters, but the longer they are exposed to low temperatures, the worse the effects and the more serious and complete the chill injury will be.

For example, your unripe tomatoes will probably be fine if they are exposed to a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours or a day, but if they experience that for several days, and especially if they experience that for weeks, the damage is likely to occur. Damage that your tomatoes can’t come back from.

What's too low, and how long is too long?

A temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) is too low. Two to three weeks is too long. Storing them at a temperature of around 55-57 (10 to 13 C) Fahrenheit for more than a few days might be risky. Fifty-eight (14.5 C) and above are safe.

Store Mature Green Tomatoes to around Room Temperature for Ripening Off the Vine

“Mature green” means that the tomatoes are still green in color, but they are mature enough and developed enough to ripen off the vine. There are some tricks to knowing when tomatoes are mature green.

Tomatoes should be full-sized and not too hard. They should have started to lighten in color and will be a paler green than immature tomatoes on that plant. If you squeeze the sides of a mature green tomato, there will be some give.

Don’t pick tomatoes that are less than mature green because they will rot before they can ripen.

If you want your mature green tomatoes to start ripening for use, they should be stored at comfortable room temperatures. The best range for this is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 25 C). Up to 75 and perhaps as high as 78 (25.5 C) will be fine, but tomatoes ripen the best between 65 and 75 F.

Temperatures above 80 Fahrenheit (26.5 C) will cause a loss of quality. As temperatures rise higher, ripening will slow, and at temps above 90 F (32 C), tomatoes will usually stop ripening all together, just like they do outside in the hot summer heat.

Tomatoes Between Green and Ripe

The temperatures that tomatoes can take change at different stages of ripening. A temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.5 C) is optimal for mature green tomatoes, but pink tomatoes that have a lot of color but are not yet fully ripe can handle lower temperatures, down to 50 F (10 C). They can handle these temperatures for more extended periods of time, too.

Light Ripe Tomatoes Can Store at Very Cool Temperatures

Tomatoes that have full color but whose color is light and not quite the fully ripe red (or other color) for the variety can store well at 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C) for two weeks or longer. This should not affect their flavor, shelf life, or quality much.

Ripe Tomatoes Can Store at the Coolest Temperatures

Tomatoes that are fully ripe can be stored at very cool or cold temperatures. A range of 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 10 C) is not too cold for these tomatoes. They can even handle temps as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 C) for several days (less than a week, ideally). Be aware that their shelf life, once removed from those temperatures, will be low, so those tomatoes should be used immediately. They will taste better if you bring them up to room temperature before serving.

Note that a range of 45 to 50 degrees (7 to 10 C) is higher than the temperatures refrigerators are kept at, which is below 40 F and is recommended to be between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 3.3 C).

Ripe Means Whatever Color is Right for the Variety

Though we often say “red” or “red ripe” when we’re talking about the stages of ripeness in a tomato, know that this is because most tomatoes are red. We know that not all are, though. If you have tomatoes of a different color and variety—for example, orange, yellow, pink, maroon, or even green—know that when we say “ripe”, “red”, or “red ripe”, we just mean whatever color is right for your tomatoes.

The same temperatures and storage recommendations apply to these tomatoes. You just need to adjust for the level and intensity of what is ripe for your variety.

Store Ripe Tomatoes on a Counter for Quick Use or in a Pantry for Using in the Near Future

For the longest-lasting and best-tasting tomatoes, and for preserving the best quality and texture in your tomatoes, store them on your counter.

Store Room Temperature Tomatoes Out of Direct Sunlight

Sunlight will only continue to scald (if very bright) and degrade your tomatoes. It can also cause them to heat up above room temperature and undo all the care you‘ve taken to keep your tomatoes at the right, recommended room temperature.

Sitting in sunlight won’t necessarily make tomatoes “bad”, but it will speed up the natural processes that make tomatoes go overripe, and it will make their shelf life shorter. It’s just easy to keep them out of direct sunlight, so they stay the best they can for as long as they can.

Store Ripe Tomatoes Shoulders Down

The Southern Living test kitchen has found that this results in the longest-lasting and best-quality tomatoes. It is also recommended to store under-ripe and ripening tomatoes with their shoulder or stem-side down to preserve quality and help them ripen better.

Keep Tomatoes Away from Apples, Bananas, and Avocados if you Don’t Want them To Ripen

Ethylene gas is what causes tomatoes to ripen. Tomatoes produce this gas on their own. They are also susceptible to the effects of the gas when it is given off by other kinds of ethylene-emitting fruits. There are a lot of fruits that make and give off ethylene gas, but the most common and biggest producers are bananas, apples, and avocados.

That means, if you want to slow down the ripening of your tomatoes, or if you don’t want your tomatoes to get over-ripe, you want to store them away from these ethylene-producing fruits (and away from any other ethylene producers).

Remove Ripe Tomatoes from Tomatoes You Don't Want to Ripen

Similarly, ripe tomatoes give off ethylene, too, and ripe tomatoes have the same effect on unripe tomatoes as ethylene-producing fruits, just like apples and bananas do. So, if you want to slow or delay the ripening of your unripe and underripe tomatoes, take out any tomatoes that are ripe or close to ripe.

Only Very Ripe and Overripe Tomatoes Should Go in the Fridge

At this point, what you’re trying to do is slow or stop any further ripening process, so it’s okay to store tomatoes in a refrigerator if they will just fall apart or rot on the counter. But this is about the only time you want to store tomatoes in the fridge.

Refrigerator temperatures are just too low to do tomatoes any good, and they will harm unripe and underripe tomatoes because the temps of the average refrigerator are well below recommended temperatures for anything less than very ripe.

The recommended temperature for refrigerators is between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on where in the fridge you are measuring.

Why Temperatures and Storage Matter so Much for Tomatoes

Tomatoes are quite sensitive to temperature, even outside on the vine. That doesn’t change when we bring them inside, and a lot of the effects of temperature are the same when indoors and off the plant.

Tomatoes have an enzyme that reacts to temperature. They are especially reactive to to cold temperatures (and very high temperatures too, but cold is more of a problem). It breaks things down, and this is when you end up with cold-stored tomatoes that are mealy, pale, and flavorless. It’s not your imagination; it’s science.

Some of the impacts of poor or improper storage and temperature on tomatoes include:

• Less flavor
• Lower quality
• Shortened shelf life
• Reduced longevity
• Poor texture and mouth feel and tomatoes that turn mealy inside (from storing too cold)
• Overly soft, juicy, and leaking tomatoes (from temperatures that are too ripe or after removing from cold refrigerator storage)

When tomatoes, even ripe tomatoes that ripened before cold storage or refrigeration, are removed from their cold temperatures, they tend to decay quickly. They also begin to actually lose flavor.

If tomatoes have been refrigerated, they should be used when removed. Those that you think experienced colder temperatures (whether inside or out) would be better if used ahead of other tomatoes of similar quality and ripeness because they are more likely to experience the effects of cold. Their shelf life is apt to be shorter than tomatoes that were stored at higher temperatures or stayed in the recommended ranges.

Garden Fresh Tomatoes Stay Well If They’re Stored Well

If you treat your tomatoes right and if you store them within the recommended storage temperatures, you will find that they are capable of lasting quite a long time, time measured in weeks or longer. They often last much longer than even expert sources will tell you they will last.

Store your tomatoes well, check them regularly for decay, remove suspect fruits, and you can enjoy your fresh garden tomatoes for quite some time—even after the season has ended.