Ways to Make Your Garden Tomatoes Stay Fresh

Did you know that there are over 400 different types of tomatoes that are suitable for growing in your garden? Keeping veggies fresh is great for you – they taste great and are healthy. Do you love to grow fresh tomatoes in your vegetable garden?

If so, you want to know how to keep them nice and fresh. Good news. Keeping veggies fresh doesn’t take a lot of time, preparation or effort. Just be sure to let them ripen first before storing them away long term.

5 different ways to make your garden tomatoes stay fresh

1. Eat them soon after picking. Eating fresh tomatoes is the best way to eat tomatoes without worrying about them going bad. They can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days. It will be a week before they start to go bad.
2. Refrigerate them. Refrigeration is a bit tricky, though. If you want to keep them tasting fresh, store them in there only a few days. They will taste bland, but will store in the fridge for two weeks before going bad.
3. Store them in the freezer. Freezing tomatoes keeps them the most fresh the longest – for 3-4 months, long after the summer garden harvest. You can keep them indefinitely in the freezer, but storing them a max of a few months will keep their taste.
4. Canning comes in fourth for keeping your garden tomatoes fresh. There is a process to canning tomatoes, but it is easy. There are benefits to keeping them canned. They can last longer, they take up less fridge and freezer space and some people like the tradition of canning food. They can last a year.
5. Dehydrate your tomatoes. Use the sun or with an electric dehydrator. Tomato varieties with a greater pulp-to-seed ratio will give you a thicker dried tomato. Cherry tomatoes should be sliced in half. Larger tomatoes can be dehydrated in 1/4-inch thick slices. Dehydrated tomatoes are wonderful for snacking, on pizzas, in omelets, and in pilaf or risotto.

There you have it. The five best ways to help your garden tomatoes stay fresh. Tomatoes are great with a variety of dishes, so storing them will have you have fresh garden veggies all year long.