Simply pull up the plants with roots attached and carefully shake off excess soil. That means you want to pick tomatoes that can ripen in 50-70 days after transplanting. Unfortunately, if you planted tomatoes that are unable to ripen … Store them at room temperature, instead. As with the ripening process, green tomatoes can be stored in different ways. I used short, open, flat boxes to store my tomatoes. (So be nice to them!) Ripening Tomatoes Indoors. Hang them upright in a sheltered location to ripen. And I have had tomatoes that I picked green in October, ripen … And while they are not as good as a vine-ripe tomato picked in the heat of summer, they will taste a lot better than any store-bought greenhouse tomato! Ripe tomatoes … Tomatoes should be stored in single-layers if possible. It's not difficult to ripen your green tomatoes indoors. Levy recommends storing ripe tomatoes upside down (stem-side down) on paper towels in an open container such as Tupperware, a shoe box, or a cardboard flat. How to Store Tomatoes. A good example is ‘Early Girl’ which can produce red, ripe tomatoes just 50 days. Skip the fridge if tomatoes aren’t ripe. While it’s pretty to put tomatoes on a windowsill, you’re better off keeping your tomatoes in the basement or a cupboard. How to Store Tomatoes That Aren’t Ripe. Here's the other thing: Tomatoes are fragile. In some cases, taking up the entire plant, rather than picking individual tomatoes, may be required. Store your green tomatoes. They can bruise easily, so storing them in an organized manner will help protect them. You want the tomatoes to continue to ripen … I lined the boxes with a piece of paper grocery bag to help keep the boxes clean (yep, we even reuse boxes around here, especially for picking garden produce).