Can I preserve green tomatoes from my garden by wrapping them in newspaper and putting in a cool dry place and use them in winter? My plants are on their way out...my mom said she heard somewhere I can do this. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?
YES, definitely. I used to live in Illinois and I always did that with my tomatoes left on the vine, when a frost was imminent. They ripen quickly, so check every 3 days or so. You don't have to wrap each one separately, just lay a few together on one sheet and cover with another layer, tucking all edges around.
I like to wrap each one individually with newspaper, put them in a flat box. A good place to store them is under a bed, as the bedrooms are usually cooler. As mentioned earlier, just be sure to check them often so none will go bad on you. They are much better than what you get in grocery store after the season is over.
I have found that using newspaper isn't a good idea. The print on the paper tends to spoil the tomatoes much faster. I put them in a brown paper sack(not too full) and put in a cool room. Check every so often for the ripe ones. I usually have them until Thankgiving Dinner.
Put your green tomatoes in a single layer, cover with news paper, put another layer, more paper etc. I use shallow cardboard boxes. They seem to last best when in no more than 2 layers deep. Check every day or two to remove ripe/rotten ones. I have served the last ripe tomatoes for Christmas dinner.
Green tomatoes can be stored until they ripen using this method....almost like the green house tissue paper method. However, you have to check them often to make sure they don't turn rotten and you may only store them for a short time.
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