As safe as any tomato picked early. Breakers have all the 'power' as the mature ones. So if you pick at 'break' stage you should be able to ripen them correctly without problems. Otherwise, I'm sure there are some green tomato recipes that are safe.

As I said on the other forum, you should be OK, especially if you cover. The 'feel like' doesn't mean too much, unless a very heavy dew. If the plant get frosted near the tomato, Don't use the tomato, if it's just the tips that get burnt, the rest of the foliage will help to prevent the fruit from getting frosted.

What are called "vine-ripened" tomatoes ARE picked at color break in the commercial industry. Picking at color break is the norm, the standard, for tomatoes. So of course they are perfectly fine for canning once they finish ripening since millions of pounds of them are canned annually.

This, how the fruit is sealed off from the plant at color break, has been discussed in great detail on the Tomato forum many times. The difference is in the method of ripening used by the commercial industry, not when the tomatoes are picked.

The quality line for canning drawn by NCHFP is related to the effects of frost exposure, not at the development of color at picking.

Dave

Thanks Dave - I knew I should pick now rather than waiting until the vines died. NCHFP says "Select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm fruit for canning." but I think I learned from you that if the plant was stressed from disease that the fruit may be higher in pH. How much foliar disease is acceptable for canning? Less than 10%? Some Roses may have slightly over that though the hybrids are very healthy (considering I didn't prune them, thinking they were determinates so they're very bushy). So those varieties should be safe to can, even with a little foliar disease, right?

The CV are practically defoliated (due to my failed efforts to keep ahead of the diseases) but no anthracnose or septoria on the fruit. Grandmas were looking better than CV but I gave up on taking off spotted fruit and also didn't keep tying them up so they've sprawled, had BER early but now picking at break the fruit look fine after they ripen. Still not safe to can though?

Going out to pick and cover now (just picked berries and cukes), hopefully I'll get enough tomatoes and peppers to to sell at market for the next 2-3 weeks (or 2 at least). I just picked beans yesterday, don't think I'm going to get any more of those. Hopefully the peas will survive - they're not blossoming yet.

I think what they are saying is diseased fruit shouldn't be used, not so much foliar disease.

Peas should survive, since I've had them go thru a hard freeze and still be good. Cold hardy, peas are, either early or late cold.

I've had beans (bush) survive down to 33 actual temps. Just slow to recover.

1 pea blossom so far. I don't know if pole beans will survive, the kids picked some while I picked peppers, and DD trampled the bush beans (I did tell her to pick those first so that she didn't have to worry about stepping on them when she stood on top of the bed to pick the pole beans behind them).

Covered the serranos and some of the exotic peppers, I didn't have that many bell plants, and it wasn't worth covering 5 hot cherry plants.

I still have to pick the hybrid tomatoes since the Reemay wasn't long enough to cover the row or wide enough to get a double layer front and back. Plus the old fence used as a trellis was just going to rip it where we tried to fold it over the top. So I'll pick after dropping DS off at XC practice, and DH will help me lower all plants to the ground and cover them with Reemay. The few heirlooms (BW and CP) I put in late at the end of the bean row and forgot about were very lush with foliage, we picked the biggest & most exposed fruit but then just tried to cover the rest with the foliage and a partial bale of hay.

The hybrids near the house and all of the heirlooms I put in last week of June are the healthiest plants with the biggest fruit. Too bad they ddin't have time to ripen - but hopefully we can get some ripening in the basement - now I just need shallow boxes and newspaper (DH took out the recyclables last night)!

NCHFP is talking about the fruit, not the plants. It doesn't even mention the plants.

Frost damaged fruit has a higher pH.

Tomato plants can have disease or frost damage without damaging the fruit itself so the guidelines reads:

"Select only disease-free [fruit], preferably vine-ripened [color break], firm fruit for canning."

It does not read: "Select only unblemished, perfect, fully ripe fruit from only perfectly healthy plants for canning."

For example the Crushed Tomatoes instructions read: "Trim off any bruised or discolored portions."

Don't make it more complicated than it has to be.

Dave

Ah, I could have sworn there was an old thread on late blight where you said that stressed plants had fruit with higher pH. But great, I can use the GM and the CV for canning then! Just need onion and cilantro and a big batch of Annie's salsa is coming (I'll also can plain tomatoes as they ripen, I have 1 more chance to sell ripe ones this weekend then I'm going to start canning them before they go bad).

Strange how this year the plants look so bad, foliage dying off but not a spot on the fruit. Of course, it's just the ones that got stressed in the beginning by too much rain early-mid June.

Sometimes the plant take the brunt of damage to allow their offspring (fruit) to develop properly.

Each year has it's problems, no matter what. We will never have a perfect year, just deal with what comes.

It has been a very unusual weather year all over and the most likely cause of the unusual garden performances.

could have sworn there was an old thread on late blight where you said that stressed plants had fruit with higher pH

May very well be but many things can affect the pH of fruit - that's why the acidification requirement.

And Late Blight is unlike any other of the tomato diseases. Not only is it rare but with Late Blight the plant rarely survives long enough to produce fruit much less harvestable fruit. LB takes a plant down completely within 7-10 days and any fruit that may be on the plant will be quite obviously infected.

Dave

As long as the normal amount of citric acid (or for salsa, vinegar/lime juice) will be enough in this situation, I won't worry any more. Thanks!

Marla - I know, if it's not one thing it's another. The drought last year was a challenge, but I got a good harvest - just sold most of it since I was too busy to can!

Oh, and now that I've picked all those (tomorrow will be sorting by color and variety and wrapping in newspaper), is the basement (somewhat dark, though not completely, and dehumidified, constant 50's-60 temp) better, or is the attic (daytime highs mid-60's to low 70's except for next Wed-Thurs high 70's but cloudy/humid, lows mid-40's to around 60 for the next 10 days, after tonight)? The attic also has a large window on the south gable - though I suppose if they're wrapped in newspaper or in a cardboard box it won't matter.

I've got roughly 100 lbs of green tomatoes picked today plus some at breaker 3+ stage picked last week/this weekend. Trying to ripen ASAP for market ending 9/25, not so much to hang onto until Thanksgiving ;-) though we will use what doesn't sell.

I came across this sidebar in the Ball Complete Book today (it's with the Tomato Ketchup recipe), and thought of you:

"To ripen tomatoes for canning, empty them from the basket or box onto a single layer of newspaper or a large mesh rack. Store in a cool (but not cold), dry place out of direct sun. Turn tomatoes daily to prevent spoilage and soft spots. As the tomatoes ripen, sort into different stages of ripeness and use the ripest first."

So no worries about using non-vine ripened tomatoes.

I got tired of wrapping each one individually so just laid down a couple sheets of newspaper, 1 layer of tomatoes (not touching), another double thickness of paper then another layer of tomatoes in the spaces between the first ones, covered with another layer of paper. All sorted by ripeness and variety and in cardboard boxes on wire shelves in basement with dehumidifier. We'll see how it goes - the first ones should be almost ripe. I haven't turned them yet (placed stems down) so I will do that when I check them today. Thanks!

Around here, we've done the newspaper thing for decades. We also seem to have some green, but mature, fruit at frost time. If the fruit is not mature size, they will not ripen as nicely. Better to make green tomato stuff with it.

Be sure to check a minimum of 1x per week, preferably more.