So I'll freeze those varieties. But now low of 37 (and "feels like" of 33) is predicted for tomorrow morning, while I have been picking at blush (maybe a stage 3 according to chart Dave posted on Tomato forum) I will be trying to pick everything showing any color at all (stage 2) today, and cover what I can.

My Burpee hybrid beefsteaks and Rose de Berne plants are looking quite healthy - a few spotted yellow leaves but nothing like the rest of the plants (the hybrids never looked bad in June, and I replaced all the Roses in late June). So if I pick breakers from those varieties and let them ripen indoors, are they safe to can once they ripen? BWB or must they be PC'd?

Thanks - trying to save what I can this year.

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.

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

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.

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.

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)!

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

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.

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

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

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!

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.

"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.

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