These Vegetables Will Still Ripen After You Pick Them.

This time of year, gardeners have some difficult choices to make. Rain and cold nights pose risks to your vegetables on the plant, but you also want to make sure you give each tomato and cucumber a chance to ripen before harvesting. But what if you can have the best of both worlds? Here are garden foods you can harvest before they are ripe because they will improve once harvested.

The tomatoes turn red to let you know they are ready.

Who doesn’t love picking a gorgeous yellow or purple slice off the vine? While it makes sense to let your tomatoes fully ripen outdoors, farmers advise that once your tomatoes start to turn red, they can be picked and allowed to finish their work inside the vine. You’re looking for what’s called a “color break,” where a green tomato begins to show signs of an orange or reddish tint. At this point they can be put inside and allowed to ripen at room temperature, which can take 5-7 days without affecting the taste. You can speed up the process by exposing the tomatoes to gas (ethylene) from the bananas.

It’s important to note that there is a difference between hand-ripened green tomatoes and those that have been discolored; Although the green ones can still be ripened, the taste will suffer a little. (You already know this because you bought tomatoes at the store in January.) If the season is coming to an end, you can also cut the entire plant off at soil level—leaves, tomatoes and all—and hang it up. it inside, upside down, to allow the tomatoes to ripen.

The eggplants will be ripe when you pick them.

Some encouraging news: There are no eggplants picked “too early.” Baby eggplants are delicious and no different from their larger cousins. You can collect these bambinos throughout the season, but it makes sense to collect them at the end of the season to clear the bed and protect them from rain – eggplants do not tolerate cold.

You can break the green pepper curse

Somewhere there is a person who loves green bell peppers and single-handedly supports the bell pepper industry. I would like to meet them like I would like to meet a unicorn. For the rest of us, it’s best to watch the bell peppers change color and the flavor actually changes with the color.

Peppers will continue to change color inside once they change color, and in some cases, even green peppers change color. The key is to leave them at room temperature and keep them dry. You can also try the “hang the whole plant upside down” method. Peppers take longer to ripen internally than tomatoes, but since they are so sensitive to frost, it’s always worth a try.

Remember that hot peppers are different from their larger cousins. Although even hot peppers become sweeter after they change color, many hot peppers are eaten green, such as jalapeños. (I’m of the opinion that red jalapenos are the only reason they are grown, but not everyone agrees with me.)

Harvest the pumpkin before it cools and it will ripen beautifully.

Facts: Zucchini don’t like frost: pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, none of them. It’s best to remove the pumpkin from the vine even if it hasn’t changed color, and any change in color means it’s likely to ripen inside. Because winter squash needs to be seasoned, place it in front of a fan and turn it every few days until the outside becomes firm.

You can also eat all of the above in their unripe form.

If you find yourself thinking, “Damn, there’s so much stuff to bring home to hang out in front of the fan,” you’re right: this time of year, my kitchen table looks like a Pinterest board for veggies, and I keep a powerful fan pointed at it 24/7. . You certainly don’t have to go through all this trouble. It’s totally okay to let the end of the season come and go and celebrate with fried green tomatoes and stuffed green peppers. However, by extending the season into October (and enjoying the extra produce), you’ll really feel like the effort you put into your garden all summer was truly worth it.