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lovetogarden2008

Shipping Tomatoes?

lovetogarden2008
14 years ago

I live on the left coast and my mother lives on the east coast. Her toms are doing very badly due to the weather and mine are robust robust robust! None ripe yet, but tons of fruit.

She is going to be 89 next month and I was thinking of making a bday package of some of my best toms and shipping them to her overnight.

Does that seem reasonable? How would I pack them?

Thanks.

Comments (20)

  • star_stuff
    14 years ago

    Thats a great idea! I would wrap them individually, and pack them all in a sturdy cardboard box surrounded with lots of soft stuffing/newspaper so nothing moves around. USPS Priority Mail takes 2-3 business days from west coast to east coast. You can do all of your shipping from home if you weigh your package to the lb. And Priority is slightly cheaper when printed online versus Post Office.

    https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do

    And then you can schedule a free Carrier Pick Up for the next day:

    https://carrierpickup.usps.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CarrierPickup.woa

    I sound like a USPS advertisement LOL!

  • star_stuff
    14 years ago

    If your package is heavy, 3 lbs or more, your best bet from west to east coast is a USPS Priority Flat Rate box (2-3 day transit). Its $10 regardless of weight or destination. And all Priority boxes are free. Hope this helps. (I ship things every day ~I have one that I should be packing right now hehe!) :-)

  • missingtheobvious
    14 years ago

    If possible, ship early in the week so that a one-day delay won't mean that arrival changes from the expected Friday to Monday. That's what many vendors who ship plants do.

  • sue_ct
    14 years ago

    Great idea! My birthday is in August and if I don't have tomatoes by then, gifts will be gratefully accepted. I will even cheerfully register as a charity so the fair market value of any extra tomatoes will be tax deductible if anyone is uncomfortable with the gift giving thing. :)

    Sue

  • lovetogarden2008
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for all of your input. Won't she be surprised! Her bday is 8/20, so there's plenty of time for my toms to get ready.

  • johnnytomatoseed
    14 years ago

    I shipped tomatoes from Illinois to Florida. I picked them at first blush, wrapped them individually in newspaper and sent them by UPS. The ones on all four corners had a little damage but not enough that they could not be used. The rest of the box, a double computer paper box, was fine.

  • yardenman
    14 years ago

    I have a friend who has had to give up growing tomatoes because of back problems. I intend to ship him a few Brandywines and Cherokee Purples once a month. Wrapped up in newspaper and surrounded by styrofoam peanuts, they should do just fine.

  • sue_ct
    14 years ago

    Boy, if I was having a better year, I would suggest mailing some trades with other forum members. That would be fun, esp. trying varieties that you have been wanting to try or that don't do well in your area but do great much better for others.

    Sue

  • crystalstephens
    14 years ago

    Hi Sue,

    That is a great idea! I am in New Jersey and am growing Plum and Beefsteak tomatoes if anyone is interested.

  • lovetogarden2008
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I shipped off a package today. I wrapped the toms in bubble wrap and padded the top and bottom with newspaper. I did some green and some with a little blush and some with medium ripe.

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all is well.

    It's going to be her 89th bday. Yikes!

  • lovetogarden2008
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I'm glad to say that the tomatoes all arrived without getting bruised. Good eats!

  • holly-2006
    14 years ago

    Yay!

    Can I be next?! lol

  • lovetogarden2008
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    You betcha! :D

  • sueinglet_yahoo_com
    14 years ago

    I would love to buy some Jersey Tomatoes if anyone would be willing to ship them to Utah.
    sueinglet@yahoo.com

  • dancinglemons
    14 years ago

    You guys are GREAT!! Just yesterday I was trying to think of a way to send some fresh veggies from my garden to my grandsons. You have given me the info I needed. Monday I will ship some tomatoes and carrots - with the tops! They are going to love this. You see I will be sending them yellow tomatoes and yellow carrots :-))

    DL

  • RazzleberryRose
    9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,

    Thank you so much for posting about how to ship tomatoes. You chat came up right away when I googled my question and I have just discovered and joined Garden Web.

    So I sent three heirloom tomatoes to San Diego today from Sacramento. The sad news is that today is Sunday and mail pick-up will not happen until tomorrow 3pm. That said, things move pretty quickly around California and I am hoping they will arrive by Tues or Weds.

    I will post an update.

    I packed in newspaper as suggested in a very sturdy box. Did not use the styrofoam peanuts although I had those but was wondering if they had toxins that might impact my tomatoes or the moisture content of the package? Oh, I did include a lot of fresh oregano from the garden.

    Razzleberry

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    I think more important than wrapping , (or as important) is using a sturdy box, that will resist collapsing. Also make sure they don't rattle in the box.

  • Linda Evenrude
    6 years ago

    A dear friend is moving from Napa Valley to Tx this next week- just S tomatoes are coming on! Thanks for all the input! Think I'll go to the local market and hit up the produce guy for a few boxes! Will wrap as you all suggest and send them off with fingers crossed! Appreciate your suggestions

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    6 years ago

    Be careful about interstate produce shipping. California is pretty nasty about it. Imports of tomatoes from all states to CA are "subject to inspection", and from a few places are disallowed entirely. I think Texas is pretty lenient about importing produce, though. Other produce, especially fruits and nuts, are barred entirely.

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